Bondswoman
by Ari Moriarty
Summary: SEQUEL to "What Cannot Be Broken." Injured in mind and body after the resealing of Nyx, Minako struggles with her new life in Inaba. While Nanako, new wielder of the wild card, works to fight off the shadows that now threaten her Big Bro's psyche, Minako finds the darkness in her mind pushing her away from her lover Shinjiro and into the arms of a much more dangerous man.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **Welcome back to Inaba, for round two! I'm really excited about getting to write more of this story, and I will work extra hard to try and make sure that it stays fun for everybody. There will be some dark content here, but it's not going to get nearly as depressing as last time, especially since I don't have to resurrect anybody this time. Phew. I've read all of your thoughtful comments, have considered them carefully, and have subsequently made a few changes in my original plan for this story. Thanks again for all your help!

Now, please be warned, this is a **sequel** to my story **What Cannot Be Broken!** A lot of things happened in that story, and I'm afraid that this story will probably not make a lot of sense unless you've read the first one. So, here's what I suggest. If you're reading my writing for the first time, why not go ahead and read this prologue. If you like the writing style, or are interested, then go ahead and go back to read **What Cannot Be Broken**. If not, then no harm done, right?

Okay, so, I shouldn't actually be posting this chapter today. I told myself I'd wait at least a week before starting on the sequel, so hopefully I'll have enough self control to post no further updates on this story until next week. After all, I still have to type up the other ending from the last story!

Next week I'll start updating daily (or almost daily) again.

**Prologue: Six months after the resealing of the Eternity Arcana**

The warm summer evening air engulfed Minako's face as she, Shinjiro, and Junpei walked together through the streets of Inaba. Minako could hear the sounds of the festival goers all around her, laughing, talking, playing games and generally having a good, relaxing time.

"See?" said Shinjiro, placing one arm protectively against the small of Minako's back, as a group of older children ran by them laughing uproariously. "Told you I'd take you to the summer festival."

"Yeah," added Junpei," although I almost had to skip out. Daidara-san's not much of a festival guy. I told him I wanted the day off to take a friend around the festival, and he just looked at me like he couldn't figure out why that was a good excuse to miss work. Seriously, he should get out more."

Shinjiro snorted. "Never even invited you," he muttered. "This was supposed to be time for Minako and me."

"Whoa." Minako heard the slightly hurt tone in Junpei's voice. "That's cold, man. I let you live at my house, rent free, for months, and this is the thanks I get?"

Minako laughed. Reaching around until she found Junpei's shoulder, she gave it a comforting little squeeze. "Well, I'm glad you could be here," she assured him. As if in response to that, Shinjiro's arm slipped possessively down around Minako's waist and held her just a little bit closer.

Six months had gone by since she and Yu had sacrificed of piece of each of their souls in order to reform the Great Seal. After most of her Iwatodai friends had gone back to their respective homes, she'd decided to stay behind in Inaba with Junpei. Akihiko and Ken had begged Shinjiro to return with them, but, he too, opted to stay with Minako, insisting that it was now his turn to look after her the way he'd never had the chance to before.

Minako, Shinjiro, and Junpei had spent three months living in the house together, which, although fun and never boring, had resulted in several heated altercations, and had put some definite strain on the relationship between the three friends. It had been a delightful, relieving surprise when, in the mail, Minako received a letter from an organization that appeared to be called "The New Shadow Operatives," informing her that Mitsuru had purchased her and Shinjiro the gift of their own little house, conveniently placed not too far away from the local shopping district.

Minako had felt slightly guilty about that. Perhaps due to the relationship between her and Akihiko, or perhaps due to the fact that she'd always been just slightly jealous of Mitsuru, Minako's interactions with her when she'd been visiting had been strained, infrequent, and awkward. That, in fact, may have been the reason that Mitsuru had chosen to purchase the house. Minako saw it as a kind of unnecessary apology, a peace offering that Minako knew she should have been the one to offer first.

"Whoa," said Junpei suddenly, and Minako felt him grab her arm and begin to wheel her around in the other direction. "Look out, incoming!"

Instinctively, at the word "incoming,"' Minako flinched, and ducked her head.

"Arisato," came Dojima's voice from somewhere just behind her. "What are you doing?"

Minako flushed, and shook her arm free, doing her best to glare at Junpei. So that, she realized too late, was what he had meant by the word incoming. "I'm sorry, Dojima-san," she mumbled, doing her best to stand up as tall and straight as she could. "Um, Junpei was just…I mean, he told me that…" She couldn't seem to figure out exactly how to finish that thought.

"Forget it," muttered Dojima. "Don't worry about it, just go enjoy the festival. It's about time you a got a break, I guess. We've been working you pretty hard lately at the station."

"I…enjoy my work!" Minako said. It was true. She did. Still, even if she had hated her job, how was she supposed to respond to something like that?

Minako felt a small hand placed against the leg of her Yukata. "Ooh, Minako! I'm so glad you're here! Are you having fun at the festival?" Nanako sounded as though she was having a pretty good time herself. Minako could hear the big smile playing around in the little girl's voice. "There's a goldfish game! Dad says that this year, it's my job to catch one for myself, so I'm gonna win as many goldfish as I can! Maybe we can make a whole aquarium at the house!"

"We don't," insisted Dojima gently, "have enough space for that, Nanako. One goldfish will be plenty. All right, Arisato. Have a good time. Aragaki, you keep an eye on her, all right? I need her back and in one piece on Monday morning."

"Yes sir," muttered Shinjiro. Minako had always thought it sounded very strange to hear Shinjiro calling anyone "sir." At the same time, it was hard to imagine calling imposing, no-nonsense Detective Dojima anything else.

As they continued walking through the festival, Junpei said conversationally, "Seriously, Mina-tan, it's pretty impressive that you're only sixteen and you're already working as Dojima-san's partner. You must be the youngest police detective ever! Uh, except, maybe for Naoto-kun. Okay, second youngest."

"I'm not his partner," insisted Minako, "and I'm not a police detective. I'm an assistant. I get coffee, and I fetch papers. Occasionally I sit at the front desk and chat with security guards. They won't really let me do anything important, anyway, because of my eyes. Really, I'm pretty sure Dojima-san gave me the job because Nanako begged him."

"Eh." Junpei sounded unperturbed. "Just wait until you have the chance to show them what you can really do! I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you get promoted."

Minako had no interest in getting promoted, and could not imagine how she could ever qualify for a position like that. Still, Junpei's totally groundless confidence was nice to hear. "Dojima-san doesn't want a partner anyway," she told him. "I don't think that position would ever open up. He prefers to work alone."

"Good. He's kinda scary," remarked Shinjiro.

Minako turned around to stare in his direction. "That is not," she admitted, "something I ever expected to hear from you."

"What?" Shinjiro sounded offended. "Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, Junpei's footsteps stopped. "Oh, uh," he said, sounding uncertain. "Hey, I just remembered, there's something that I have to…tell you what, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

"Hey, wait! Junpei!" Minako tried calling after him, but she could already hear him jogging away through the crowd. "What was that about?" she asked Shinjiro.

"Over there," Shinjiro informed her, turning her slightly. Now, she could hear the approach of wheels against pavement, accompanied by a collection of animated voices.

"Hey!" called out Yosuke, "look, it's Mina-chan and Shinjiro-san!" The sound of the wheels got much closer, as did the rumble of footsteps as a large group of people apparently picked up the pace.

"Oh," murmured Minako. "So that's why…" Ever since the incident six months ago, when Junpei had desperately kidnapped Nanako in hopes of saving Minako's life, he and Yosuke had not been on the friendliest of terms. Part of her was glad that Junpei had recognized the need to get out of the way for a few minutes. She didn't enjoy the arguments and veiled insults that cropped up between them every time Junpei and Yosuke met.

The sound of wheels stopped only a foot or so in front of Minako, and she felt a hand reach out to touch her arm. "Hey," said Yu, "I hear you're working with uncle Dojima now. How's that going?"

"Yu!" Minako was delighted. She hadn't seen him since he'd gone back home to his parents and to his school so many months ago. Yu, she knew, hadn't been able to graduate, since he'd had to spend several months at home recuperating and learning how to function again before he was able to head back to school. Still, it was summer vacation, and he'd be able to stay here for at least a couple of months before going back to the daily grind. "Oh, Dojima-san's fine. The job is…well, it's a job. How are your parents? "she asked him. "We missed you while you were away."

Yu and Minako had an unspoken understanding that neither of them would ever ask the other "how are you feeling?" or even, "how are you?" They hadn't known each other for very long, and wouldn't have described their relationship as "close." Still, there was something about going through the sort of ordeal that they had suffered. That kind of thing, thought Minako, has a way of bringing two people together. She didn't know how Yu felt about his injuries, and he would never fully understand how she felt. The one thing they both knew about each other, however, is that talking about what had happened was, and forever would be hard. There were so many new feelings and new experiences, many of which were unpleasant, that they could not explain. It was a courtesy and an expression of mutual understanding that neither of them ever asked.

"Mom and dad are fine," Yu told her. "They weren't too sure about me coming out here to visit for the break…actually, they really wanted me to stay home this year."

"Yeah," said Minako, "I can imagine.

"But you talked them into it, right?" Yosuke asked. "It would have sucked so bad if they'd made you stay home. Still…I guess most of us can drive now. Maybe next time we should come visit you."

Laughter erupted from behind Yosuke, and Minako could pick out Yukiko's crazy, infectious laugh, and Chie's sharp, high-pitched laugh, among the voices of several others. The gang must all be here, she thought.

"No way," said Yu, quickly. "Where would I put all of you? My mom would throw a fit."

They moved on together for a while, looking into booths and talking about a little bit of everything. Minako walked along beside Yu's chair, keeping one hand on his armrest to help her navigate around the festival. Even though she knew that Junpei and Yosuke couldn't possibly hang out together, she found herself wishing that he hadn't had to leave. His voice didn't' seem to be anywhere in the various crowds they passed.

"Minako-chan," murmured Naoto. "It is my understanding that you will soon be celebrating your seventeenth birthday."

"What? Seventeen?" Rise sounded incredulous. "Are you seriously the youngest one here? I had no idea."

Well, thought Minako, technically I'm three years older than I look, or even feel. Then again, Junpei would have said that Minako, having been dead for three years, was now celebrating her first year of life as a zombie. She decided that it might not be a very good idea to bring that up. "Yeah," she said, "I guess so."

"July 12," said Shinjiro.

"Hey," said Minako, smiling. "You remembered."

"Yeah. Weird, huh? I'm…not usually good with birthdays," he mumbled. Minako was touched. Lately, Shinjiro had been showing her several sides of him that she hadn't seen or expected to see before. She was sure that he'd remembered her birthday because it was important to him. She, he assured her, mostly only when they were alone, was important to him.

"Ooh, we'll have to throw a party!" announced Rise, sounding excited. "It'll be a combination 'welcome back' party for Yu-senpai, and a 'happy birthday' party for Minako at the same time! This will be so much fun!"

"Oh, but…during the summer, the inn is usually hard to get into," Yukiko reminded them. "I don't think we'll be able to have the party there this time."

"That's okay," insisted Yosuke. "We can use Yu's place. Right, partner?"

"Uh," said Yu, "I…guess? I'll have to ask my uncle…"

"Great, then Nanako-san and Dojima-san can be there too!" Chie was delighted. "We'll cook something again. Oh, maybe we can all make dinner together! It's a shame we don't have Fuuka-san this time, though. She made such a delicious cake last year…oh man, that was so good…" Chie drifted off into daydreams about food.

Fuuka, thought Minako wryly, had definitely helped with the cake, but the real hero of the hour had been Shinjiro. She took her hand off the wheelchair, and stopped to let Shinjiro catch up with her.

"Well, Shinji?" she asked. "Are you up for it?"

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Shinjiro, but Minako knew that secretly, he was glad she'd asked.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** …Tuesday counts as "next week," right? Yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it does.

…Hi everybody. My name is Ari Moriarty, and I have a writing problem…

Admitting the problem is the first step, right? So, uh…what do I do next?

So, you guys expressed a lot of interest, during **What Cannot Be Broken,** in seeing much more of the P4 characters. Your wish is my command! One of the major players in this story will be…well, I'll let you read the chapter to find out.

Please be on typo alert, my computer is acting up again and inserting words where it shouldn't. If you do find misplaced words or phrases, I apologize. I will attempt to troubleshoot and address the issue for future chapters.

**Chapter One**

After getting home from the festival, Nanako sat down on her bed and thought for a long time. She was trying to decide if she wanted to tell Yu about the dream she'd had the night before.

Normally, Nanako was comfortable telling her cousin anything. He was a good listener, and he always seemed to take her seriously, never laughing at her or telling her to go and play. Yu always had great advice, and so he was obviously the person to go to with a problem like this.

The trouble was that, several months ago, Yu had sat Nanako down and explained to her that she wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about the place called "the Velvet Room." When Dad had asked her and Yu what had happened the night that Yu had come back to life, Nanako ad tried to explain all about Minako, the seal, the robot girl named Aigis, and the Velvet Room. Much to her frustration, Dad hadn't believed her. He'd been too happy at seeing Yu again to get mad, but he'd told her to grow up and to stop telling stories, and that hadn't been fair at all. After all, she wasn't telling stories. It had all really happened!

Later, Yu explained to her that there were some things that adults just couldn't understand. Someday, he promised her, he would tell her all about what had happened that night, but until then, it would be best if she tried to forget about it.

Nanako didn't like that very much, either, but Yu had looked so serious when he said it that Nanako had nodded, smiled, and promised to be careful not to tell anyone.

Then, less than a week after that, Nanako had gone with Dad and Yu to the doctors, where the doctors had done a lot of tests and had asked Yu a lot of annoying questions. Then, when it was all over, the doctors had done something that had made Nanako really, really mad

"I'm sorry," the lead doctor had said, "but we can't find anything wrong with your nephew. As far as we can tell, he isn't paralyzed or injured in anyway. If he wants to walk, then he will."

Nanako had wanted to explain to the doctor that her Big Bro was not a liar, and that something horrible had happened to make it so that he couldn't walk anymore. Instead, thinking of her promise with Yu, she had reluctantly held her tongue. It hadn't been easy.

Now, after the dream in which she'd met Igor and his three assistants, Nanako wanted to talk to Yu. She just wasn't sure if it was okay to bring it up. After all, she had promised.

"Nanako?" called Yu from somewhere in the kitchen. "Would you mind helping me with dinner?"

"Coming!" Nanako hopped off of the bed and hurried up the stairs. Yu was struggling to navigate his wheelchair through the narrow kitchen, and was apparently having trouble getting to the fridge.

"Oh!" said Nanako, dodging around the chair to get into the kitchen. "What are you making? I'll get the ingredients out for you."

"Thanks." Yu sighed, looking relieved. "Uh, I'm gonna do an omelet with fried rice. Sorry it's so simple."

"I love omelets!" Nanako beamed at him.

Yu laughed. "You're easy to please," he said. "I appreciate that."

Nanako spent some time rummaging through the cabinets and the fridge, collecting the things that Yu would need. Then they began preparing the rice together.

"Sorry to make you do all the work," remarked Yu. "I know it's my turn to cook tonight."

Nanako didn't mind. "We're a family," she reminded him. "So, we're supposed to help each other, right?"

"Right," agreed Yu, grinning. After a moment he asked, "Is your dad still at work?"

"Yeah," grumbled Nanako. "He said something came up. It sounded pretty bad." She bit her lip, and Yu squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Well, when he does come home," Yu assured her, "We'll have dinner all ready for him to heat up. I bet that'll make him happy."

Nanako was sure that it would. Dad always looked so tired when he came home from work, and she didn't want him to have to do extra cooking work on top of all the stuff he did at the office. Not that cooking really felt like work, especially when there were lots of people to help out. With Yu around, it always ended up being fun.

"Hey, Nanako," asked Yu. "Are you okay? You've been awfully quiet tonight. What's up?"

This, Nanako thought, was her chance. Now she should tell Yu all about the dream, about the ugly man with the hooked nose, and the power called "persona" that he'd shown her. Yu, of course, would know exactly what to think about all of that. He always knew what to think about everything.

Still…what if he got mad at her for breaking her promise? She didn't want to make him angry, or sad, or disappointed in her. Disappointment was the worst.

"It's nothing," she told him, stifling a sigh. "This rice smells good. I'm getting hungry."

Yu laughed. "Oh, is that all? Don't worry, it'll be done soon. Then we can eat."

Yu ruffled her hair, and Nanako smiled, trying to put the strange dream out of her mind.

**The next morning, at Minako's home…**

Minako awoke in bed to the feeling of Shinjiro's lips grazing her forehead.

"Mm," she mumbled incoherently, batting him away with one hand.

Shinjiro laughed. "You're cute when you sleep," he informed her.

"Yeah?" Minako yawned. "Well you're loud when you sleep. You make funny noises and you snore all night long."

"What the-? I try to give you a compliment, and that's what I get?" He was trying to sound offended, but Minako could hear the smile playing around in his voice. "Don't think you're gonna get away with that." Leaning over top of her, he kissed her deeply. Minako let herself relax against him, and felt his breath quicken as she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her over closer to him.

"I've got work,'" she reminded him, grinning at his disappointed grumble. "And you," she added, "promised me that you'd spend today looking for a job."

"Yeah, I know." Reluctantly, Shinjiro released her, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Junpei says I can't get work cause I'm intimidating. I scare away all the interviewers. Not my problem. I can't help what other people think."

Minako reached out and found Shinjiro's face, tracing her fingers along the base of his jaw. "Why don't you start," she suggested, "by shaving? That might help."

While Shinjiro headed to the kitchen to make breakfast, Minako took a shower and spent a few minutes in her closet, sorting out a skirt and blouse. "Shinji?" she called, stepping out of the bedroom. "Do these match?"

"Hell if I know," muttered Shinjiro. "Uh, it's a white shirt and a blue skirt."

That'll work, thought Minako. She sat down at the table, and heard Shinjiro clink a plate down in front of her "Eat," he commanded.

Dutifully, she forked a bite of breakfast into her mouth, and was surprised and delighted by the taste. "Oh, you made pancakes! But you don't even like pancakes."

"It's easy to make," Shinjiro explained. "Besides, you like them."

"Well, thank you." Minako tried not to shovel the food in, remembering how unappealing she'd found that when she last ate out with Chie. "Are you going to make something else for your own breakfast after I leave?"

Shinjiro took the fork out of Minako's hand, and stole a bite of her pancakes. She heard him chewing contemplatively before he replied, "Nah, this stuff isn't so bad. Anyway, I thought I'd walk you to the bus stop."

"That's okay." Minako shook her head. "You've got things to do. I don't want to put you out."

"And I," retorted Shinjiro, "don't want to sit around wondering if you got hit by a car. It'll be better if I go with you."

Minako knew that she shouldn't be annoyed. After all, he was only trying to show her that he cared, and that was important to her. Sometimes, she even found his stubbornness endearing, but now wasn't one of those times. Being chaperoned everywhere, and being helped with everything got boring and frustrating after a while. It had been six months since she'd lost the use of her eyes, and so she'd had six whole months to figure out how to function by herself without them.

"Really," she insisted. "I will be just fine walking to the bus by myself."

She expected Shinjiro to back down, but this morning, apparently, he wasn't taking no for an answer. "You can't see," he told her bluntly. "Shit's dangerous. I'm coming. Don't argue."

Minako bristled. Did he have to phrase it such a commanding way? She wasn't a child. "I am perfectly capable," she told him as firmly as she could, "of getting to the bus by myself. I do not need or want your help, Shinji."

She heard Shinjiro's sharp intake of breath, and realized too late that she'd raised her voice much louder than she'd intended. The room stood still for a moment while Minako carefully let the frustration and irritation ebb away from her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That came out wrong. I know that you want to make it easier for me. It's just that I!"

"Forget it," muttered Shinjiro. Minako could tell that she'd hurt him. He was using his stoic voice, the same voice he used when he was trying to prove that he could be more manly and unfeeling than anyone else in the room. Sometimes, Dojima-san used tones just like that when he was speaking to the new recruits, and it always made Minako think of Shinjiro, which in turn always made her smile.

"You're a good man," she told him. "Thank you for trying to help me." I'm a very lucky woman."

"Sure," said Shinjiro quietly. "Go on, you're gonna be late for work."

Minako found his face, and pulled him in for a quick kiss goodbye before she grabbed her bag and groped her way to the door. "See you later," she called as she left. "Good luck on your job hunt! Don't' worry about shopping, you can rest tonight. I'll cook."

Somewhat to her relief, she heard Shinjiro snort out a laugh just as she was about to close the door. "Heh," he said. "Over my dead body, maybe."

The bus was waiting when Minako arrived at the shopping district. She managed to catch up and get on just in time, and she rode it all the way to the police station. When she walked in, Dojima was already at his desk. She knew that because the hushed, diligent, vaguely nervous atmosphere in the room was exactly the sort of thing that his presence encouraged.

"Good morning, Dojima-san," she said, after bumping into one of the rookies on the way to his desk. "Should I make you some coffee?"

"No," growled Dojima.

That faintly alarmed Minako. "No?" she asked. In all of the time that she had been working here, Dojima had never once turned down his morning coffee.

"I'm busy," he informed her, very clearly indicating that she was dismissed.

Minako did not have a death wish. She did, in fact, put a great deal of value on her own life, and had expended a lot of effort trying to hold on to it. It was surprising to her, therefore, when she found herself saying, "Um…what's going on? Did something happen?"

She expected him to shout at her. She deserved it, after so blatantly ignoring her cue to leave him alone. She flinched when she heard Dojima swivel around in his chair to face her, and awaited the worst.

"Huh," he murmured after a long, tense moment. "Maybe you do have some detective in you after all. All right, Arisato, I'll tell you."

Minako breathed. She hadn't realized, until just now, that she'd stopped breathing in the first place.

"There's been a prison break," Dojima was saying. "A well known criminal, supposed to be locked up for life got out sometime last night, and now he's on the loose. They think he might be hiding out in Inaba, so they've got us all on high alert. Extra patrols, long hours. You're probably in for some long nights too, so I guess you have a right to know why."

"But…why Inaba, sir?" asked Minako hesitantly. "Of all the places that he could possibly run to, this seems like an unlikely one. There aren't that many places to hide in Inaba. Everyone here knows everybody else, so he'd stand out."

"Yeah, well," muttered Dojima. "He's got unfinished business here. So do I, if he's back in town."

Minako was glad, for a moment hat she couldn't see the look on Dojima's face. Something about the way he'd said those last few words made her think that the look in his eyes right now wouldn't make her feel any more comfortable around him.

"What's the criminal's name?" she asked.

"Adachi," snarled Dojima. Every syllable of the word dripped with bitterness.

That came as a surprise. Minako knew that she'd heard that name before. She was pretty sure that Adachi had been the name of the man whom Yosuke held responsible for the murders that took place in Inaba the year before she'd arrived. This "Adachi" had been, according to Yosuke, responsible for killing two women and for setting the scene for the kidnappings and attempted murders of several other people, including Yukiko and Rise. If he had broken out of prison and was back in town, then they might be in danger again, as might Yosuke, Yu, and all of her other new friends.

"How can I help?" she asked.

Dojima sounded very slightly impressed. "That's the spirit," he told her." You can get me that cup of coffee. I think I'll want it after all."

There were several more questions that Minako wanted to ask, but, this time, she did leave to get the coffee.


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: **A double update! Maybe I should ask to borrow my roommate's computer to type on, since mine is acting up…although if he caught me writing fanfiction, I don't' think I would ever hear the end of it. Ever. In my life. Not sure if it's worth it. Let's wait and see how frustrated I get trying to type another chapter on this one, first…

Stay tuned next chapter for the triumphant re-introduction of Yosuke's POV!

**Chapter Two**

Minako spent most of the day making phone calls on Dojima's orders. She called the police departments of various other districts, helped to convey orders to on-duty cops, and answered phones as what seemed like every single member of the Inaba population called in to announce that they had seen the suspicious man whose face was being displayed on the news.

Before she knew it, the station had gone silent, save for the clacking of the keys on Dojima's keyboard, and his occasional guttural mumblings. They were alone, she realized. Everyone else must have already gone home for the day.

"Um, Dojima-san?" Minako asked. "What time is it?"

"Huh?" A moment passed, and then Dojima said, sounding slightly guilty, "Oh, wow…it's already after seven o'clock. Nanako'll be waiting up for me. I should have called."

Minako's heart sank. "Oh, I'm sure she'll understand," she told Dojima, while wondering to herself just how angry Shinjiro would be when she wandered in after dark. He had already started to worry about her that morning, and she hadn't even bothered to phone home to let him know that she'd be late. Minako was in for it, and she knew it.

"Just tell Aragaki that I kept you against your will," Dojima said unexpectedly, interrupting Minako's depressing train of thought. "He can't argue with that. A job's a job."

"Oh!" Minako was surprised. "But, um, how did you…?"

Dojima laughed, and there was a wistful, faraway note in his voice as he told her, "I was married once too, remember? I know how important it is to keep your partner happy."

Minako knew that she was blushing bright red, despite all of her efforts to compose herself. "We're not married, "she managed. "We've only been dating a few months."

Rather than responding to that, Dojima must have picked up the phone, because Minako heard him dialing numbers into the keypad. "Hello, is this Shinjiro Aragaki? Yeah, Detective Dojima. No, she's fine. It's been a long day and she's been helping me with some phone calls. I wouldn't let her off the hook when the other guys went home, so she's still here with me, and it's getting pretty late. Could you come and pick her up? I don't want her wandering around by herself when there might be a wanted man on the loose. Sure. Yeah, okay." The phone clicked back into the stand. "That's that," Dojima said.

"You…um…didn't have to do that, sir," Minako said. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about what had just happened. For the second time that day, someone had gone out of his way to try and make things easier for her, when she probably should have just gone ahead and handled it herself. On the other hand, this would definitely make her evening significantly less unpleasant.

"You're welcome," said Dojima. "Go on, get your stuff, you're leaving."

"What about you, sir?" she asked. "Yu and Nanako are waiting."

"Yeah, I'm leaving too, eventually," he promised. "Let me just take care of a couple of things to set up for the night shift guys, and I'll go home."

Minako found her coat and bag, and sat outside the station to wait. Eventually, she heard a call pull up to the curb.

"Get in," Shinjiro instructed her. "I asked Junpei to borrow his car. Figured you shouldn't be walking around at night with some psycho killer on the loose."

Minako climbed into the passenger seat, and soon felt the car pull away and head out onto the nearly empty roads. "But you'd protect me, right?" She teased.

"Yeah," Shinjiro growled. "But no reason to put you in danger in the first place."

"Shinji," Minako began, feeling slightly awkward that all of the necessary apologies had fallen on Dojima's shoulders, "I'm really sorry about tonight. About this morning, too. I should have called."

"I'm not angry," he said, and he sounded like he meant it. "At you, anyway. I've got a few things to say to Detective Dojima the next time I see him, though…"

Minako pictured Dojima and Shinjiro squaring off against each other. Although she knew who she'd be rooting for, she couldn't seem to decide which one of them would have the better chance of winning.

"It wasn't his fault," she insisted. "We both last track of time because of this Adachi guy. Dojima-san's really worked up about it. I think they used to know each other."

Shinjiro grunted in assent. "Yeah," he said, "They used to be partners. That's what Yosuke said, anyway."

"Partners?" Minako thought about that for a moment. "So… then Adachi turned out to be the murderer that Dojima-san was trying to find the whole time, huh? Wow, no wonder he seems so bent out of shape about it. That's…a pretty big betrayal."

They drove on in silence for a few minutes, before Shinjiro said, "Oh, do you mind if we go over to Yu's place for dinner? He called maybe an hour ago, and said that Nanako-chan's been asking about you. Figured maybe we shouldn't leave them home alone tonight, either."

"No, I don't mind," Minako assured him. "But Dojima-san will be home pretty soon, too. He's leaving now."

"He told you that?" Shinjiro asked. Minako nodded, and Shinjiro laughed. "What, and you believed him?"

Yu answered the door when Minako and Shinjiro arrived. Minako could hear the rolling of his chair wheels against the wooden floorboards before the door creaked upon. "Hey guys," he greeted them, sounding pleased. "Thanks for coming. Nanako's been talking about you all day. I guess it's been a while since she's spent any time with you."

"Minako!" Nanako came barreling out of the kitchen and threw her arms around Minako's waist. She was getting taller, Minako realized, as she leaned down to return the hug. Six months ago, Nanako hadn't been able to reach quite that high.

"Hi, Shinji-san!" said Nanako, wisely choosing to refrain from hugging Shinjiro. "I'm so glad to see you! I You haven't come over for dinner in a long time!"

"She misses your cooking," Minako told him, smiling. "And who could blame her?"

"No, it's not that," Nanako insisted, as all four of them went inside. There was a note of sheepishness in her voice that gave the lie to her words.

Yu and Shinjiro went into the kitchen, leaving Nanako and Minako to sit together at the table. Normally, Minako would have insisted on helping, although she probably would have gotten shoved out by Shinjiro anyway. Today, however, she knew that her job was to entertain Nanako while the boys got the food ready. It was a definite role reversal from the way things were in some of the households she'd heard of.

"Your dad'll be home soon," she assured Nanako. "He was just finishing up some work at his desk, but he promised me that he was about to leave."

"Oh," said Nanako, not sounding too terribly excited. "Yeah, he's been pretty busy lately. I guess it's because Adachi-san's out of prison."

Minako was surprised, and so was Shinjiro, judging by his startled exclamation. "You know about that?" she asked.

"Of course." Nanako sounded very slightly irritated that Minako would ask such a silly question. "It's all over the TV. They've been talking about him and showing his picture all day. That's probably what dad's so worried about, right? I'm not dumb, you know."

"Of course you aren't," Minako reassured her, wondering at the same time if it wouldn't have been better for Yu to have turned the TV off that day, or to try and keep her from the truth. "Are you worried?"

"No…I don't think so." There was a frown in Nanako's voice as she pondered Minako's question. "Adachi-san's a nice man. He's good at magic tricks, and he used to help me with my homework. I think he came back because he's lonely. It's probably really lonely in prison, right?"

There was no way for Minako to answer that. It seemed so strange to think of a convicted murderer as a "nice" man, and yet the thoughtful tone in Nanako's voice made Minako realize that the little girl had spent some careful time thinking about every single thing she'd just said. Hadn't Nanako been one of those endangered by Adachi's behavior? Minako could have sworn that Yosuke had told her a story about Nanako getting kidnapped and almost dying as a consequence.

"I think you're right, Nanako-can," agreed Yu from the kitchen. "He was lonely when we knew him, too."

Yu and Shinjiro arrived at the table, carrying what smelled like a steaming bowl of something. Shinjiro pressed a spoon into Minako's hand, and she therefore assumed that dinner was probably soup or stew of some kind. Either that, or Shinjiro was about to play one of those tricks on her where he tried to get her to eat something solid without a fork. He had tried things like that before, just to see what she would do. Hesitantly, she stuck her spoon into the bowl that had been placed in front of her, and was relieved to discover that the food was soupy in nature. There were chunks of meat floating around in it as well, and what felt at first like potatoes.

"Thank you very much," she said politely.

"Thank you very much, Shinjiro-san, Big Bro," echoed Nanako. "Mm, this smells delicious."

"It'll taste even better," Shinjiro reminded her, and Minako recognized the pride in his voice that always came along with watching someone enjoy his food. "Go ahead, get started before it gets cold."

As they ate, Minako questioned Yu. "What were you saying," she asked, "about Adachi having been lonely when you knew him? So," she added wryly, "was that before or after he started killing people?"

"Both, I think," said Yu, apparently unperturbed by her slightly sarcastic tone. "He used to come over for dinner a lot, sometimes with uncle Dojima, sometimes without him. I think he wanted to part of a family. He talked pretty big, always going on about how nothing mattered and you should just spend life having fun, but…he sounded pretty sad when he said it. As though it wasn't worth thinking about if there wasn't any other option for him."

"But..he killed people. He killed two people, in cold blood."

"I know." Yu sighed. "And that person, the person who killed Saki-senpai and Miss Yamano, that person is a real, living, breathing part of who Adachi is. There's someone else in there, too, though. Just like all of us have different sides, so does he. The difference is, his darker side won out in the end. Maybe he never conquered it, but I wish he'd at least been able to try. If anyone knows it can be done, then it's us.

Minako had a very hard time understanding that attitude. Murder was murder, especially calculated, planned murders, like the ones that she imagined this Adachi person committing. If he'd managed it once, what was to stop him from trying it again?

"The worst part is," Yu continued, "that I think uncle Dojima sees all of that too. They cared about each other. It was a weird sort of caring, but it was there. That's why it's so hard for him, I think. Now that Adachi's here, uncle Dojima will have to think about it again. It's hard to think about it. There are so many unanswered questions about who Adachi really is.

"So," said Shinjiro, "you don't think he's back to kill you?"

Minako could have cut the heavy silence in the air with a knife. Trust Shinjiro, she thought in exasperation, to just lay it on the table like that. Even she had to admit that he wasn't exactly the master of tact.

Yu, however, answered him levelly, as though no thing out of the ordinary had been said. "No, I don't," he replied. "But, just in case, Yosuke and the others want to meet up at Junes tomorrow to talk about it. I think Yosuke's gonna take everybody inside the TV, to see if Adachi's camping out in there. Actually, I was hoping that the two of you could come as well. Bring Junpei-san along, if he's willing."

"Junpei and Yosuke…" began Minako.

"I know." Yu cut her off. "But maybe this will be the first step to helping them put the friendship back together. Yosuke knows what it's like to lose your head to avenge someone you care about. Right, Nanako?"

Nanako pushed some stew around in her bowl. Minako could hear the spoon scraping against the ceramic side. "Uh huh," she muttered.

When she really thought about it, Minako had to admit to herself that she didn't much care for Yu's idea. Somehow, the escape of a convicted murderer, and the subsequent call to arms of his would-be victims didn't strike her as the perfect situation in which to contrive reconciliation between Yosuke and Junpei. Still, she knew that sometimes pressured situations could bring out the best in people. Of course, as it had in Junpei's case only six months before, it could also bring out the worst.

"Yeah," agreed Shinjiro, before Minako had even made up her mind on an answer. "They'll have to work it out eventually. Might as well be tomorrow. Sure, I'm in."

"Okay," agreed Minako hesitantly. "Then I'm in too, I think."

"Um…" Nanako spoke up hesitantly, sounding uncertain, as though she was expecting to be shut up or interrupted after every second word. "Are you talking about…going to the Velvet Room?"

Minako heard Yu's quiet breathing for a moment, before he asked, "Nanako…do you remember what happened last time in the Velvet Room?"

"Yes…I'm sorry." Now Nanako sounded slightly ashamed. "I know that I'm not supposed to talk about it, and I know you made me promise, but…but Big Bro, I had a scary dream."

Oh no, thought Minako. Now poor Nanako was having nightmares too. Not that Minako could blame her. The place had been pretty terrifying, and Nanako had been dragged there by a crazy, panic-stricken kidnapper.

"It's okay," Yu was saying. "I didn't mean you couldn't ever talk about it. I just don't want you to tell any other adults, in case they laugh at you or something worse. You can talk about it with me, and Minako, and Shinjiro. So, what kind of a dream did you have? Saying it out loud might make it feel better. Sometimes that's all it takes, with nightmares."

"Well…" Nanako, apparently buoyed by Yu's words, went on in a more confident tone of voice. "In my dream, I was in the Velvet Room, and I met a man named Igor."

Minako heard the sound of a fork dropping out of someone's hand, and clattering noisily on to the table.


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Thanks as always for your insightful commentary. I think, because of all your help, that I am finally beginning to get the hang of how this works.

So, with that in mind, it look as though we are about to encounter a polarizing issue in this story. (I stole the term "polarizing" from **SuperNova23**, I think it's perfect for this situation.) Here is a friendly disclaimer to help you decide if this is the right story for you!

Let's talk a little bit about Adachi. I am planning on portraying him, in this story, as a multi-faceted person, with numerous sides to his personality, capable of both evil and good. I'm taking a lot of my characterization of him from his social link in Persona 4 Golden, so if you haven't played through that link, you should! Or you can just youtube it. ;) Anyway, you've seen this sort of thing from me before. Aigis was a hero in the P3 games, but she, under duress, killed Yu in **What Cannot Be Broken. **Naoto, also in the Bad Ending to **What Cannot Be Broken**, killed Junpei. I like to try to flesh out characters and give them multiple facets, depending on their circumstances. I'll be doing that in this story with Adachi.

I know from your messages that some of you feel very strongly about Adachi being pure evil. That's a totally reasonable interpretation, but it's not mine. If seeing Adachi as anything other than pure evil is something that will make you unhappy, **now is your last chance to get off the boat **before I introduce him into the story. I absolutely don't want any of you to stop reading, but if you decide to do that, I understand! Before you go, though, please, scroll down through the list of reviews for this story, and check out some of the stories written by your fellow readers! Some of you who have been reviewing this story have seriously amazing fiction on this site! Maybe I'll start posting recommendations every update, for fics written by people who read this story! Oh, I like that idea….but where to start?

Oh, and PS: I accidentally lied about Yosuke's POV. Apparently that's actually the next chapter. Sorry! So, NEXT CHAPTER will reintroduce Yosuke's POV, and will also reveal what Nanako's first persona looks like!

All right, enough out of me. Here's the chapter!

**Chapter Three**

Minako went ahead and called out of work the next morning, so that she could join the others at Junes.

She hadn't expected it to be easy to get the day off, and so was surprised when Dojima let her go without a fight. "Yeah, don't worry about it," he said over the phone. "After how late I kept you last night, it's only fair that I give you a day to recover."

It was, thought Minako in some irrational frustration, not "fair" at all. It was, in fact, the very definition of "unfair," since there was no doubt t in her mind that Dojima wouldn't have let any of his other employees off of work if they had asked. She was a special exception, of course, because she was blind. Poor Minako was fragile and delicate, and had to be treated with kid gloves, not allowed to take on more than was good for her. The very thought of it made her sick. Hadn't she put in just as much work as everyone else, without complaining?

All of this speculation was, of course, ridiculous. Minako had gotten what she wanted, and now she had the day all to herself. With that in mind, she joined Junpei and Shinjiro, and the three of them headed for Junes.

The moment they walked into the food court, the atmosphere got very tense.

"Sup," muttered Junpei.

No one said anything in response, although Minako knew they were all there from the various shuffling and rustling noises she heard after Junpei spoke.

"Why'd you bring him here?" asked Yosuke finally, apparently addressing Minako and Shinjiro. "We don't need him."

"I asked him to come," said Yu. "The more people we have on our side, the better."

"But," countered Yosuke, "what if he's not on our side?"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" asked Junpei.

Again, Minako heard shifting noises, and what she fervently hoped wasn't the sound of someone unsheathing a blade.

"Why does everyone look so mad?" asked a small female voice from somewhere near Yu. "What's going on?"

Minako was surprised. Why was Nanako here? After all, Minako and Shinjiro had been listening the night before, when Yu had made it very sternly clear to Nanako that she was not going to be invited on any of the missions with him and his friends. Nanako had insisted that she'd promised Igor to return, but Yu hadn't been willing to listen to any of it. Minako had been startled at how unyielding Yu had been, since he was normally so calm and rational about everything. Apparently, when it came to Nanako, there were some things that got even his hackles up.

"Forget it," muttered Yosuke. "Anyway, there are more important things to worry about. We all know why we're here, right?"

"It's because of Adachi," replied Yukiko. "I heard on the news that he's back in Inaba!"

"Which," argued Chie, "makes absolutely no sense. I mean, the guy hated this whole place! We figured he'd get out. Someone who can jump in and out of TVs can't stay locked up for long, but…if he had the chance to escape, why come back to Inaba? Why not just run for it?"

"There's a reason." Yosuke sounded grim. "There's only one reason he'd come back here, and that's to go after us. We're the ones who caught him, right? We're the ones that put an end to his little game. Now that he's out, he'll want to settle the score."

Yosuke, thought Minako, apparently didn't share the same feelings about Adachi that Yu and Nanako had expressed to her the night before. While Yu had described Adachi as a lonely, conflicted man, Yosuke didn't seem to have any doubt that, once he had the chance, Adachi would yet again become the cold blooded killer that the media portrayed him as. Minako wasn't sure which of them to put more faith in, although she knew exactly how Dojima felt about it, and that swayed her more in Yosuke's direction. Then again, she'd never met the guy, so what right did she have to an opinion, anyway? Either way, he sounded like bad news.

"I think it's time," Yosuke was saying, "for us to temporarily re-form the investigation team. After all, if Adachi's out to get us, our best bet is to get him first. I know I'll sleep better at night when he's locked up again."

"Uh, whoa, senpai," interjected Kanji. "With our leader out of the game, wouldn't it make more sense for us to stay away from Adachi? That guy's dangerous."

A murmur of conversation rippled through the group, before Yosuke said, sounding frankly disappointed, "I never thought I'd hear that kinda thing from you, Kanji. Normally I'm the one talking you down."

Kanji cleared his throat. "I just think," he said, "that we should keep in mind that we're not at full strength, okay? Things are different, now. Yu-senpai was always the most powerful one of us. Without him, we...might be in some trouble."

"I agree," murmured Naoto. "Adachi-san is a powerful opponent, and any anger he may harbor against us will only make this a more difficult fight. It would be wise for us to remain cautious and on the alert."

Slowly, other voices began to speak up, some in favor of Yosuke's plan of attack, others supporting Kanji and Naoto. Minako, who was beginning to feel the prickling of a headache-to-be around her left temple, had trouble keeping track of who was siding with whom.

It was Yu whose voice finally broke through the clamor. "Wait," he said. "Before we say any more about this, there's something that Nanako wants to tell you all."

Slowly, the other voices all fell silent.

"Um," said Nanako. "Um…I can do 'persona' too."

The silence became a stunned, anticipatory hush. Minako didn't understand. She was absolutely positive that Yu had been against the idea of Nanako going anywhere near the TV world. Why was he suddenly letting her speak her piece at what was essentially a council of war? After all, the girl was only eight years old. This wasn't a place where someone her age ought to be.

"Hey," Minako began, but Shinjiro put a hand on her shoulder to forestall her.

"Let it go," he told her. "I think I know what he's trying to do."

Minako had no idea what Yu was trying to do, but, hoping that Shinjiro was right in his surmise, she sat back in her chair to let Yu and Nanako finish what they'd started.

"So…I want to come with you," Nanako was saying. "Igor told me that I can use my 'persona' to help Big Bro get better. I promised that I would, and I want to! So…please, let me come with you."

"Yu?" asked Yosuke. "What…what's this all about? What do you mean? Nanako can use a persona, now?"

"Apparently," Yu told him, "Nanako had a dream the other night about the Velvet Room. With Minako and I both out of commission, there would need to be a new wild card, especially if someone like Adachi is threatening the balance of things again."

"But…but she's' just a little kid!" insisted Chie, apparently horrified.

"I am not little," insisted Nanako, and Minako smiled, despite herself, at the affronted tone in the girl's voice. "I am taller than most of the other girls in my class, and I can help. Please. I want to help Big Bro! He's always the one helping me…"

"I like her," muttered Shinjiro, just loud enough for Minako to hear. "She's got a lot of guts for a kid."

"But still…" insisted Minako. "You didn't like it when Ken joined up with SEES, and he was even older than Nanako is now!"

Shinjiro grunted in assent. "Didn't say I wanted her to join up," he assured Minako. "I just think she's impressive, that's all. So was Ken. Hell, he still is."

"Nanako, I understand how important your cousin is to you," Yukiko said, using her most rational, careful tones of voice. "It's just that this stuff is really dangerous. I'm sure Yu wouldn't want to put you in any danger. He'd probably feel even worse than he does now if something were to happen to you! He loves you so much."

"Yeah, we all do," agreed Chie.

Up until this point, Yu had been strangely silent. "Hey, come on, Yu," Yosuke said. "Aren't you gonna try and talk her out of it?"

"I think," murmured Yu, "that Nanako will have to decide for herself, after she sees what the TV world is really like."

Oh, thought Minako. The penny dropped, and everything began to make slightly more sense. Yu had no intention of letting Nanako fight alongside them. He just wanted to make sure that Nanako realized for herself how scary the shadows really were. That wasn't, she realized, a bad idea. After all, Nanako was at exactly the right age to be able to get very stubborn when she wanted to. Stubbornness ran in her family as well, if Dojima was any example. This might be the only way to really convince her that fighting shadows was a bad idea. Once she got a glimpse of one, or saw how dangerous they could be, she'd probably run screaming. Anyone sane would. That, of course, begged the question, could Minako and her friends still be considered sane?

"I agree," she said, trying belatedly to help. "I think Nanako should be allowed to decide. After all, it's her life, and it's her power."

"Thank you, Minako-san!" Nanako sounded delighted. Minako tried not to feel too guilty that she was intentionally misleading the girl into thinking that this really had her support.

No one seemed to know quite what to say for a few minutes. Minako imagined everyone looking at each other, waiting for someone to speak up and voice the thought that all of them were thinking. Wasn't someone going to object to this?

"Yosuke," said Yu finally. "And Shinjiro-san. Would the two of you be willing to look after Nanako for me? I won't be able to go in with you, so she'll need someone to keep an eye on her, during her first trip."

"Right," muttered Shinjiro. "Yeah, no problem."

"Uh…" Yosuke sounded significantly less sure about it. "Seriously, partner? You want…you want us to take Nanako-chan in there? I guess there probably aren't too many shadows around right now, but what if Adachi's waiting for us?"

"That's why she's going with you," Yu explained, and there was something of a hardness in his tone that Minako realized was evidence of the stress that he was trying not to show. "If anything goes wrong, you'll send her back out of the TV to me. I'll be waiting right here. I can count on you to do that, can't I?"

There was a brief pause before Yosuke answered. "Of course," he said, and this time, he sounded more confident. "No problem. Leave it to me."

Slowly, chairs began to push away from the table as people got to their feet. Shinjiro reached over and took Minako's hand, guiding her through the doors an into a whirring, beeping room that Minako assumed was the Junes electronics department.

"I'll be back soon," Shinjiro told her, as he released her hand. "Stay here, okay? You and Yu stick together."

"Yeah, and I call shotgun for the drive home," announced Junpei. "That means you're driving this time, Shinjiro-san."

Minako heard them stepping forward, the sounds of their footsteps disappearing one by one. They were, she realized, going inside the TV. "Wait," she called out. "Are you going to look for Adachi?"

"We just want to see if he's been in there," Yosuke assured her. "Once we figure out where he is, we'll come back out so that we can come up with a plan, okay? Don't sweat it. We'll be back before you know it."

But, thought Minako, Adachi was a murderer, a murderer who could use a persona. She hated the idea of them going in there on a scouting mission without her, to a place where she wouldn't be able to hear them if they called out for help. "Be careful," she managed to say, forcing out a smile.

"Like Yosuke said," Junpei promised her, "this'll be a piece of cake. Nothing to worry about. See you soon."

Then, all of the voices were gone, and all that Minako could hear was Yu's tense breathing from somewhere to her left.

"I cannot believe," she admonished him, "that you let Nanako go with them! If you'd told her no, she'd have listened to you! You're her beloved Big Bro! She cares about your opinion more than anything else in the world."

"Yeah," agreed Yu, his voice sounding slightly strained. "But you forget. Igor can get to us through our dreams. He can put ideas into her head. He's done it to both of us more than once, right? If I don't send her in with Yosuke now, she'll go in by herself one of these days, when I'm not around to help. What if Adachi is in there, and she goes in alone? That would be even worse. I know it seems crazy, but this is really the best way." He sighed. "I never imagined that Nanako would be chosen as the wild card. I don't' understand…why? Why her?"

Minako sat down on the floor next to Yu's chair. "A lot of things don't make sense about this. What did she mean when she said that Igor told her she could help you?"

"He may have just said that to get her interested," said Yu. "It's…the kind of thing that he might do."

"He creeps me out," remarked Minako.

Yu laughed a nervous little laugh. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. Me too."

They sat together for a moment, listening to the television monitors and various electronic equipment beeping in the stillness of the otherwise blessedly empty department store.

"So...what do we do now?" asked Minako. "We just wait?"

"Yeah," agreed Yu. "I think that's all we can do."

Minako let out a long, impatient breath. She hated this. The waiting game was one of her absolute least favorite games; especially when there could, potentially, be lives in danger just beyond her reach.


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note: **Double update again! This evening's double update is brought to you by the fact that I have a terrible cold, and had to skip out on rehearsals tonight! Also, Benadryl makes me a little loopy. Not sure why, but I've encountered some students over the years who have the same problem. I know it puts some people to sleep, but for the chosen few, it's really more of a stimulant…

I invented a persona! I checked first to make sure that no persona already existed with this name. If I made a mistake about that, then…the internet lied to me, therefore I deny all responsibility.

Anyway, we're back to the Velvet Room, a place that exists somehow within the persona' user's mind. Note: Just like in the last story, this is the part of the story where I make a lot of new things up! Please bear with me and prepare to suspend your disbelief!

**Chapter Four**

Yosuke led the newly re-formed investigation team into the Velvet Room, where Igor, of course, was expecting them. Margaret, Elizabeth, and Theodore were all seated next to him.

"I had so hoped you'd come," Igor told Nanako. "This will not be the first time that we have met in person. Always a pleasure, of course, to see you again."

Minako was right, Yosuke thought. This guy was seriously creeping him out. For some reason, listening to the way he was talking to Nanako made Yosuke's blood start to boil. If Yu had been here, they'd have…but, wasn't it Yu who had sent Nanako in with hem in the first place? Yosuke still wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Have you decided," Igor was asking, "whether or not to accept the challenge that we have set before you? Without you, it is likely that your friends will be forever lost in the fastnesses of their own minds."

"No pressure," muttered Yosuke sarcastically. He felt it was time for him to intervene. "Look," he told Igor, "this is ridiculous. Nanako is way too young to take on something like this. If there's a job that needs doing, we can handle it ourselves. Just…just leave her out of it, okay?"

Igor turned his large, probing eyes on to Yosuke, sending a little shiver down Yosuke's spine in the process. "Forgive me," he murmured, "but I fear that you are not capable of wielding the sort of power required for this particular mission. This will require…a certain level of skill that you do not possess."

Somewhere behind Yosuke, Kanji snorted a laugh. Yosuke tried not to blush with embarrassment.

"What the hell," he muttered. "How can a little kid be more 'skilled' at using a persona than me, huh?"

Igor inclined his head in Nanako's direction. "Show them," he instructed her.

"Um….okay." Nodding slowly, Nanako gradually pulled a persona card out of the pocket of her jumper. Yosuke stared at it in disbelief.

"Wait," asked Yukiko. "Nanako-chan, have you had that this whole time?"

"Um…I guess so." Swallowing, she added, "I wasn't hiding it…but you didn't ask me. So…"

"Now, Nanako," insisted Igor.

Nanako held up the card. "P-persona," she mumbled.

Something shot out of her and alighted on the floor just a few feet in front of Yosuke. It was a tall, scrawny-looking, bare-chested boy, with golden hair, tanned skin, and a pair of magnificent man-made wings sticking out from either side of his back.

"His name is Icarus," Nanako told them. "Igor says that he's a fool, but…I don't think that's a very nice thing to say about anyone."

"Wow," said Chie, staring in amazement as Icarus began to flex his wings back and forth. "I've never seen that one before…I don't think it was one of Yu's."

"Icarus," Igor informed her, "is not available through any fusion or combination that has yet been tried. He is a unique persona, born from the thoughts and feelings of the person who wields the wild card.

"I know this story," murmured Naoto. "Icarus comes from an old Greek mythological tale, the story of a boy who flew too close to the sun, and fell down to earth again when his wings began to melt from the heat."

"Uh…is that supposed to mean something?" asked Kanji.

They all stood for a moment, their eyes fixed on Icarus, until Nanako's voice broke through the silence.

"I wish," she said, looking thoughtful, "that he would wear a shirt. He might catch a cold otherwise."

With that, Nanako tucked the card away, and Icarus shot back into her, leaving the rest of the investigation team still standing there, blinking at her in awe.

"What?" asked Nanako, looking worried. "Don't you like him? Are you mad?"

"Nana-chan," whispered Teddie. "You're amazing…"

Yosuke shook his head, trying to clear it of the spectacle that they'd all just witnessed. There was a reason that they were in the Velvet Room today, and Nanako actually wasn't part of it. "Hey, um, Igor," he said, feeling somehow strange that he only knew the man's first name. "Maybe you can help us. We're looking for someone named Adachi. He's a persona user, and we think he might have escaped in here to try and dodge the police. Have you seen him?"

"Hmmm…Adachi…" Igor looked thoughtfully over at his three assistants. "I cannot say the name is familiar to me. Margaret? Do you remember a guest of ours who went by the name Adachi?"

Margaret nodded once. "Yes, sir. Tohru Adachi; the pawn chosen by Izanami, to enact the murders in the human world."

"And he's been in the TV world recently," added Rise. "He's not there anymore, but…things have changed. Kouzeon can feel it."

"Ahhh, yes…" Igor pursed his lips for a moment. "It has been more than a year since that individual has come through this door. I'm afraid that we cannot help you."

"Oh. Well. Thanks anyway." Yosuke turned around and prepared to leave the Velvet Room, but was stopped by the sound of Nanako's voice.  
"You told me," she was saying to Igor, "that I could use my new power to help heal my Big Bro. How?"

"Nanako-chan," said Naoto, "we should be going."

Nanako, however, did not seem to be paying attention. "I want to know," she insisted to Igor, "what I have to do. So, show me. It's only fair."

Igor shrugged. "Very well," he said. "If you wish. Theodore?"

Theodore stood up, and crossed the room to a place on the wall where there was suddenly a large, glowing door, standing very slightly ajar. Yosuke was almost positive that the door had not been there moments ago, or else he was sure he would have noticed it. The door had five large locks on it, each with two keyholes . It was, Yosuke realized, the same door that they had all passed through six months before; the door into Minako's mind.

"Nanako," he said quickly, "don't go in there." Although he wasn't sure why, Yosuke had a very, very bad feeling about whatever lay behind that door. The last time they'd opened it, several people had almost died. There was no way Yu would want Nanako going anywhere near that place, even if the resealing process had long been over.

"There is no need for fear," insisted Theodore, beckoning all of them over to the door. "The danger is gone from this place. Come…we have even further in to go this time."

Theodore passed through the door, and before Yosuke could get his hands on her, Nanako walked in behind him. Cursing himself inwardly for being a terrible guardian, Yosuke hurried to catch up with Nanako, assuming that the rest of the team would follow suit.

Minako's nightmare world looked very much the same as it had the last time Yosuke had seen it. The towering spiral staircase was still there, leading up to a tightly shut door that Yosuke knew must still open on to the Great Seal that consisted of one piece each of Yu and Minako's souls. This time, however, on either side of that door, there were two other doors. One had what appeared to be the image of Izanagi floating in front of it, while the other displayed the blurry, floating image of Izanagi-No-Okami.

"Wow," muttered Yosuke sarcastically, under his breath. "Subtle."

Chie gasped. "Look!"

Yosuke followed her gaze, and saw the shadow, sitting on its haunches just outside the Izanagi door. It was a massive shadow, with great dark protrusions coming out of the sides of its face, sort of like misplaced horns. As the team watched, the shadow began to tear and rip at the door, apparently trying to break it out down or claw through it in order to get inside.

"Do you remember," asked Theodore, with an almost disturbing amount of calm in the face of the shadow's ferocity, "when we instructed you that the loss of the persona would attract the attention of the shadows?"

"Shit," said Kanji.

"Precisely," agreed Theodore." The shadows will soon begin to prey on the minds of your friends, filling the void where the persona once lived with despair, self doubt, and all manner of unfortunate human emotions.

"So," growled Kanji, "all we have to do is kill the shadows before they get in, right? Piece of cake."

"Both sanctums," remarked Theodore, "have already been breached on more than one occasion."

"So, we go inside, and then we kill the shadows." Kanji shrugged. "Still, not a problem. Let's start with this one."

"Whoa, whoa, no way!" Yosuke stepped frantically in front of Kanji as Kanji's persona card came out. "Hold on, we are just here on a scouting mission. We're supposed to be looking for Adachi, not fighting shadows inside somebody's nightmares. Nanako is not getting involved in any fighting, okay? Yu would kill me. He'd kill me."

"So, what, we're just gonna let that thing eat Minako's brain?" Kanji sounded frustrated. "Come on, senpai, we've got a job to do here!"

"It's not a zombie, it's a shadow. It's not eating anything. There are no brains here. This is a…a sort of, um…ugh, I can't think of what you call it."

"It is a projected representation," Theodore chimed in, "of the inner workings of the mind."

"Right. So. You can't eat it," finished Yosuke. Then, he sighed. "Look, I wanna get rid of this thing as much as you do, but I don't think either Minako or Yu would be too happy to be alive if they found out that we got Nanako-chan killed to save them, okay? So let's get out of here, we'll bring Nanako back to the food court, and then we'll come back and in and take care of the-!"

Behind him, Yukiko gasped. Yosuke whirled around in time to see Nanako staring contemplatively at her persona card, her eyes glassy as though she was in some kind of thoughtful daze. "Persona," she murmured, and Icarus came shooting out of her.

"No," muttered Yosuke. "No, no, no. No. NO." Instinctively, he positioned himself in front of Nanako, in between her and the shadow, which, apparently sensing the arrival of the persona, had suddenly looked up from the door and was now slowly, menacingly lumbering towards them.

"Oh god, Yosuke, what do we do?" asked Yukiko, who had turned white as soon as she saw the shadow bearing down on Nanako.

There was only one thing left to do, Yosuke realized. "Kill it," he commanded. "Kill it now."

Mere moments after he finished his sentence, a burst of flame rocketed out of Icarus, and Yosuke barely had time to get out of the way. Having missed Yosuke by a tiny margin, the flames engulfed the oncoming shadow, and incinerated it almost instantaneously.

"Wha…holy…" Kanji was standing, staring at Nanako with his mouth hanging open.

Nanako, on the other hand, didn't look too good. "Oooh," she murmured, swaying slightly as Icarus disappeared again. "Feeling dizzy…"

Naoto managed to dodge around and catch her before she hit the ground.

"Shit," said Kanji again, and this time, Yosuke had to agree with him.

**Meanwhile, outside of the Electronics department…**

"Oh." Minako blinked. The headache that had been creeping up on her for the last hour or so seemed to have suddenly gone away. Without pain, she realized, reveling in a blissful moment, she never would have had the wonderful peace that came with the absence of pain.

"What's up?" asked Yu.

"Nothing, I just…my headache's gone, that's all. Um, how long do you think we've been waiting out here?"

"It's been exactly one hour and forty six minutes." Yu sighed. "You were right. This was a terrible idea."

"Hate to say I told you so," shrugged Minako. Then, feeling that perhaps she'd gone a little too far with that last comment of hers, she reached over and groped for Yu's chair. After finding the armrest, she located his hand, and squeezed her hand comfortingly around his. "I'm sure," she began, "that Yosuke and the others will be more than a match for-oh!"

For just one, remarkable, breathtaking moment, Minako could see. There were colors al around her, lights, images, and the one thing that stood out the most prominently was the startled look on Yu's face, as Minako saw it, up close and in person, for the very first time.

Then, everything vanished, and she was inside herself again, engulfed in darkness.

"Minako?" Yu was calling urgently for her, sounding distressed. "Minako, what happened? What's wrong?"

There was, for a moment, no answer to that question. Minako wasn't sure that she was breathing in the aftermath of that sudden, visual shock. "I…I know what you look like," she said finally. "When I touched you, just then, I…I don't know. I saw your face. Did you…feel anything?"

"No…" Yu sounded slightly disappointed. "But, try it again."

"What, try touching you again?" Minako felt her fingers, now closed around Yu's wrist. "I am. It's not working anymore. I guess…maybe I imagined it."

"Can you remember," Yu asked her gently, "anything about what my face looks like?"

Even though the glimpse had been so brief, Minako knew that she was unlikely ever to forget the only glimpse of the world that she'd gotten in six months. "There's a pink sparkly band-aid on your cheek," she informed him.

Yu laughed. "Yeah...there is. It's one of Nanako's. I cut myself shaving this morning." There was a moment's pause before he added, in a slightly puzzled tone, "You weren't imagining it, Minako. You couldn't have been."

"Then…what was that?" Minako found herself getting frustrated. "What just happened? And how can we make it happen again?"

"I don't know," murmured Yu. "I'm sorry."


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note: **There are a lot of important points touched on in this chapter. I enjoyed writing this one. Some of the stuff in the middle was inspired by the moment in P4, when Kanji gets mad about how the media is treating Mitsuo Kubo.

This weekend, I'm gona be busy as heck, so I probably won't be able to update. If the chance arises, I'll take it, but please don't actively expect another update until Monday evening.

Thanks so much for bearing with me, and I'll see you all again on Monday night!

**Chapter Five**

Minako was just beginning to get really worried when she heard the clatter of footsteps in front of her, as the investigation team piled out of the TV.

"Nanako!" exclaimed Yu. "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

"Relax, quit freaking out," insisted Yosuke. "She's fine. See, she's starting to wake up already. Nothing happened, she just…passed out, I guess. Maybe she was tired."

"Right," murmured Yu. "The TV world is hard for children to take. Even now, maybe the air in there is still toxic to her. I should never have let her go in there in the first place. This is my fault."

"Uh..." Yosuke sounded uncertain. Well, okay, maybe, but I don't really think that was it…listen, I think there's something you need to hear."

While Yosuke explained to Yu what had happened inside the TV, Minako tried to locate her friends. "Shinji?" she called. "Junpei? Where are you?"

"Here," said Shinjiro, resting a hand on her shoulder blade. "We're both fine. It was no big deal."

"Then why did Nanako pass out?" asked Minako."Did you find Adachi? What did Igor say?" Minako had hundreds of questions. If only, she thought, she'd been able to go with them.

Junpei laughed."Hey, hold on! Breathe, okay? We'll tell you everything."

They did so. Minako listened with rapt attention while Shinjiro and Junpei explained all about the surprise emergence of Icarus, their conversation with Theodore, and the shadow that Nanako had defeated in Minako's nightmare world. When they were finally finished, Minako breathed out a long, frustrated sigh.

"So, it's not over," she muttered.

"It is for you, man," insisted Junpei. "You're not going anywhere near those doors. Just leave it to your old pal Junpei, okay? I've got your back, and I'll get rid of all those shadows for you, so all you have to is sit back, relax, and prepare for my victory!" After a moment, he added, "Hey, Shinjiro-san, what's with that dirty look you're giving me? That's scary. No wonder you can't find a job."

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Shinjiro told Minako, apparently ignoring Junpei's last remark. "There's no way I'm gonna let you get hurt again. We'll take care of it, I promise. Just…try not to think about it."

How, wondered Minako, was she supposed to do that? Shinjiro and Junpei had just told her that there were shadows in her mind, and that all of her friends were putting themselves in danger in order to make sure that no harm came to her. One of those friends was, in fact, an eight year old girl with no previous battle experience who might very well die at the hands of some shadow in the process of trying to protect Minako's psyche. While they all risked themselves for her sake, she was absolutely powerless to help them, and yet, somehow, she was supposed to just try to forget this? There was absolutely no chance, she knew, of that happening.

"Maybe," she began, "I can help. I've fought a lot of shadows with both of you over the years. I know what they look like, what their weaknesses are, and stuff like that. If you can show me a picture of the shadow, or even just describe to me what it looks like, maybe we can analyze it together and figure out a battle strategy."

"Nah, Rise-chan'll do that," said Junpei. "Just make sure you let us know if you start getting headaches again, okay? I bet those headaches happen when shadows are attacking."

Minako had a new kind of headache now, and she was almost positive that this one came from stress rather than from any sort of shadow activity. "There must be something," she began, "that I can do. I can't just sit here while you all-!"

Yu's voice cut through the chatter of the group, interrupting Minako mid-sentence. "I'm taking Nanako home," he announced. "She's exhausted. She needs to rest. We can talk more about all of this tomorrow. Thanks for your help, everyone."

"I have to work tomorrow," Minako reminded him.

"Oh, that's all right," said Yukiko. "We'll come over tomorrow night and fill you in."

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke."Honestly, we need you to look after Dojima-san. He's probably tearing his hair out over this Adachi thing. The poor guy is gonna be a mess. Keep an eye on him, would you? He could probably use an extra pair of hands around the station."

The group began to disband, with everyone except for Junpei and Shinjiro going off in their separate directions. Minako nodded encouragingly to herself as she watched Yosuke walking away. He was right, of course. Maybe she wasn't much help against the shadows, but at least in the human world there were still things she had to do. With that in mind, she let Shinjiro lead her back towards the car, resolving in her own mind to head over to the police station later that night, to check up on her beleaguered boss.

**That evening, at the Dojima residence…**

Nanako, now fully recovered, was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Yu. Yu had been very quiet every since they'd first gotten home, and Nanako was starting to get a little upset. He must, she knew, be very angry. What she didn't understand was the reason why. After all, hadn't Yu told Nanako that it was up to her to decide whether or not she wanted to use her persona? That thing inside the Velvet Room hadn't been all that scary, really. Okay, maybe she had been a little bit scared, for just a moment, but…not really. Not a lot. Not…too much. In any case, Yu had given her full permission to go into the Velvet Room with his friends, so why would he be angry now?

"I'm really sorry," she said, for what felt like the one hundredth time. "I didn't mean for Icarus to shoot fire and stuff. It just sort of…happened. He was the one that did it, not me. It wasn't my fault." After a moment, she added, in a much more hesitant, slightly hopeful voice, "Um…you're not going to tell Dad, are you?"

Unexpectedly, Yu laughed. "No," he assured her, "I am not going to tell him. I'm not angry, either."

"You're not?" Nanako was puzzled. If he wasn't mad, then why was he being so quiet?

"No, I'm not," Yu repeated. "I'm scared, that's all."

"Ohh," murmured Nanako thoughtfully. She knew what it felt like to be scared. She'd been scared quite a lot since Yu had moved in, and the terrible and dangerous things had started happening in her home town. Scared was a feeling she knew what to do with.

"Don't worry," she told Yu. "Everyone gets scared sometimes. It's okay to be scared. I promise, I won't tell anybody, either."

Yu smiled. "Thanks," he told her. "But…do you know what makes me scared? I'm scared of you getting hurt. I'm scared of losing you. It's a different kind of scared."

"Oh," said Nanako again. "So, like, the kind of scared that I get when Dad's out catching the bad guys, and he doesn't come home for a long time, and the bad guys have guns."

"Yes." Yu nodded slowly, looking slightly sad. "So, you do understand."

Nanako hated the idea of Yu being sad, and so she decided it was time to change the subject."Look!" she said. "Adachi-san's on TV again!"

A news program had come on, and Adachi's picture was now flashing across the screen, just below a headline reading "Convicted Inaba Murderer Breaks Out of Jail! Local Panic Ensues!"

"Big Bro," asked Nanako, "how come they never use Adachi-san's first name?"

Yu glanced over at her in surprise. "Hmm?"

"Well," she said, "when he's on the news, they always call him 'the Inaba murderer,' or just 'Adachi.' He had a first name too, right? So why doesn't anyone ever say it?" To herself, Nanako wondered if it was because Adachi-san was famous now. Rise Kujikawa was always just "Risette," because she was famous. Maybe famous people could only have one name. It would, of course, be easier to be famous if your name was shorter and easier to remember.

"Real people," explained Yu, "have more than one name."

"Except Teddie," realized Nanako.

"Yes, except Teddie," Yu agreed. "Anyway. No one wants to think of Adachi as a real person. Murderers aren't people, they're monsters. Monsters don't need two names."

"He drew me a picture once," insisted Nanako." Monsters can't draw pictures, and they can't do magic tricks. Monsters aren't real."

Yu gave her a hug.

"You're right," he said. "You're absolutely right. Now, come on, it's been a long day and it's time for bed."

**Meanwhile, at the police station…**

"Dojima-san?" Minako carefully pushed open the door to the station, and stepped inside. "Dojima-san, are you in here?"

There was no response, although she could hear the clicking of a keyboard somewhere that led her to believe Dojima was still hard at work. Carefully, aware that the rookies had a tendency to leave things lying around where she could trip on them, Minako followed the sound of the typing.

"Dojima-san," she said again, when she'd finally located his desk, "it's really late."

"Huh? What are you doing here, Arisato?" Dojima sounded slightly unsteady, and Minako found herself wondering, even though she hoped she knew better, whether or not he had been drinking. "Go home. There are people waiting for you."

"Shinj knows that I'm here," she promised. "And there are people waiting for you, too, you know. I went over to your house last night after I left work, and I was there when Yu had to put Nanako-chan to bed. It was after nine o'clock. She wanted to wait up for you, but she could barely keep her eyes open."

The typing finally stopped. "Jeez," muttered Dojima.

"Maybe I can help," insisted Minako. "We can get it done faster with two people working on it."

Dojima snorted out a derisive laugh. Minako could smell the alcohol on his breath now. He was drunk. "What are you gonna help with?" he asked her. "Don't need any phone calls made, and can't drink any more damn coffee. Go home. There's nothing for you to do here."

"But," Minako began.

"Home, Arisato," bellowed Dojima. "That's an order."

Minako slunk out of the station, and back on to the street, trying not to think about how miserable she felt. It had not exactly been a triumph of a day. First, she'd discovered that nobody cared whether or not she showed up at work. Then, she'd had to watch her friends all traipse off to fight the shadows together, risking her lives to protect her while she'd sat around doing nothing. After forcing herself to keep her chin up throughout all of that, she'd gone to the police station to try to help Detective Dojima, only to discover that he really did think of her as nothing more than an essentially useless coffee girl. On top of everything else, there had been that moment, that terrible, wonderful moment that she still wasn't sure if she'd imagined or not. Had she really been able to see Yu's face, or was that just desperate, wishful thinking on her part? If it had been real, then how could she get it back? If she could only find a way to see again, all of the other stuff would start coming together. There would be a place for her again if she could see her way clear to finding it. It was almost nauseating, being so close and having just one moment of clarity, and then not being able to even figure out how to get it back again.

"I really am no use to anyone, huh?" she muttered, allowing herself a moment of what she considered to be well-earned self pity. "Not even to myself."

The worst of it all was that she knew her friends weren't wrong. She really was helpless. She couldn't even file papers without help from someone who had a fully functional pair of eyes. Even the blindness wouldn't have bothered her so much if she'd still been able to use her persona, but that wasn't an option anymore either. Once upon a time, she'd had a purpose, even a destiny, and the ability to protect people, save lives, and change the world. Now, although she may have managed to get her life back, there didn't seem to be anything worthwhile that she could do with it. She was, in fact, a worthless lump of pitiable half-person, forever being protected and prevented from getting into trouble.

"Maybe," she mumbled, with all the bitterness of hyperbole, "maybe I should have just died and become the seal after all. Then, at least, I'd be doing something useful."

Lost in her own frustration, Minako didn't realize how long she'd been walking. She heard the car horn a moment too late, and jumped back in alarm just in time to feel herself being whisked backwards off of her feet by an unfamiliar hand.

"Whoa there," said a man's voice, one that she didn't recognize. It sounded slightly muffled, as though it was coming through a scarf or the collar of a heavy coat. That seemed strange to Minako in the middle of the hot summer weather. It was also a slightly older voice, belonging to a man somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties, perhaps. "Another second and you would have been road kill. What, are you blind or something?"

"Yes," said Minako, bluntly. She wasn't in the mood to try and be polite.

"What? Really? Oh." The man sounded surprised. "Well, I guess that's okay, then."

Minako bristled. "Because I'm blind, it's okay that I almost got hit by a car?"

"That's…not exactly what I meant." There was a rustling sound, and when he next spoke, his voice was clearer, no longer muffled by whatever had been blocking it before. "Sorry, I was thinking out loud. Anyway, you should get home. Haven't you heard? There's a murderer on the loose. It's not safe for a girl on her own at night."

Minako sighed. The realization had begun to dawn that this mysterious muffled stranger had probably just saved her life. "Um…no, I'm the one who's sorry. Thank you. Thank you for helping. I wasn't paying attention. Do you, uh…could you tell me where I am?"

"You're right outside the Shiroku Pub," the man informed her.

"Oh," she muttered. "Sorry. I must have interrupted you in the middle of enjoying the fascinating Inaba nightlife."

The man laughed. "You think so too, huh? This place is a drag. I was just in that pub, and there wasn't a single person in there I felt like talking to. I'm not from around here, and every time I come here I'm amazed by how boring the damn place is. What do kids like you do for fun here, anyway? There's gotta be more to it than just hanging around Junes all day."

Minako shrugged. "I do whatever my friends tell me to do. I'm barely even allowed to go out on my own. Something might happen to me." She knew that she was being unfair to Shinjiro and the others. They were only looking out for her well being, and they genuinely wanted the best for her. Once she'd started speaking, however, the words kept flowing out of her, released from the dam of self control and politeness that had been holding them back all this while. "You said it yourself. It's not safe for a girl to be out alone at night, especially a blind girl like me."

"Yeah? You know, you don't seem so helpless," said the man. "What's your name, blind girl?"

It was not, Minako knew, at all wise to give personal information to strangers. At the moment, however, she didn't care. It felt good to be doing something that she wasn't supposed to do. "I'm Minako," she said. "What's your name?"

A brief moment of silence passed, before Minako heard the man say, almost cautiously, "Uh, Tohru. I'm Tohru."

The name sounded slightly familiar, as though Minako had heard it before sometime very recently. Idly, she wondered if perhaps one of the other employees at the police station was called Tohru. After all, it was a pretty common name.

"Nice to meet you," she told him.


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Note: **Awesome, I seem to have the rest of this hour to myself. I'll type this chapter up, then. With any luck I'll get it done before my rehearsal starts.

Haha, on a side note, you know how in the last chapter, Minako almost became road kill? Yeah, well, eerily enough, the same thing happened to me this morning…only, I was paying attention. The walk signal wasn't working and I had to make a run for it. I didn't time it well, and came really, really close to getting run over. I'll take that as a sign that I have to post a chapter today.

**Chapter Six**

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" asked Tohru. "Your parents are gonna get worried about you."

"I don't live with my parents," Minako said. "I…live with my boyfriend."

"Wow," replied Tohru, with a nervous sort of laugh. "Jeez, you should have seen the look on your face when you said that. Trouble in paradise, huh? Well, you're young."

Minako didn't enjoy being belittled like that. She would have been almost nineteen, she knew, if only she hadn't been dead for three years. "How old are you?" she demanded.

"That's kinda forward," retorted Tohru. "Anyway, I'm a lot older than you."

"Oh yeah?" Minako frowned. "How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm…" Tohru pretended to think about that for a moment. "I don't know, twelve?"

Minako opened her mouth to protest, and she must have looked offended, because Tohru burst out laughing. "No, I'm only teasing," he assured her.

"I'm seventeen," Minako informed him, not quite truthfully. After all, she told herself, she was only rounding up by a few days.

"Seventeen huh?" Tohru sighed. "Still in high school. That's too bad."

"What's too bad?" insisted Minako.

"Nothing," replied Tohru cryptically. "Well, I can't just leave a high school kid here by herself. You might walk into traffic again. IF you don't want to go home, then you can come with me. I'm going down to the flood plain. At least the scenery there is nice, unlike the rest of this dump."

"I don't even know you," Minako reminded him.

"I know," he said. "That's what makes it interesting. I should warn you, though, that I'm not much into babysitting. If you fall into the river or something, you're on your own."

Perfect, thought Minako. Finally, someone who isn't going to isn't going to insist on holding my hand while I cross the street. "I don't need a babysitter," she told him. "Fine, I'll come."

**Meanwhile, at the Dojima residence…**

Nanako was just starting to doze off when she heard the front door open. Struggling out of the covers, she padded downstairs just in time to see her dad wearily dumping his bag on the sofa.

"I'm home," he mumbled.

"Dad!" she called out happily, throwing herself into his arms.

"You," he informed her, giving her a quick squeeze, "should be in bed. Were you waiting up for me?"

"No," said Nanako.

"But she tried to," said Yu, as he wheeled himself into the living room. "We both stayed awake until nine o'clock last night, hoping that you would come home."

Dojima sighed. "Yeah, I know. Arisato told me."

The three of them went into the kitchen, where Nanako found herself immediately eyeing the refrigerator. There was an uncomfortable rumbly feeling in her stomach.

"Can I have a snack?" she asked.

Dad laughed. "You're always hungry. Sure, go ahead."

While Nanako rummaged around to locate the fruit slices that were hopefully still left over from last night's dinner, she listened to her dad and her cousin talking together.

"So," Yu was saying, "you talked to Minako."

"Yeah," muttered Dojima. "She came by the station. Said something about wanting to help me get my work done. I…I shouted her out. I'd been at the booze, and…" He shrugged. "Guess tomorrow I'll have to apologize. "

Nanako knew what it felt like to have Dad shouting at her. She felt immediately sorry for poor Minako. It had been very nice, though, for Minako to try to help with Dad's work. That didn't seem like a reason to get angry at someone, but sometimes Dad could be unpredictable when he was drinking. Most people, Yu had explained to her once, were unpredictable when they drank. She'd seen that sort of thing on TV, too.

"You know," continued Dad, "I think her injury's been harder on her than she wants to admit. She's a good kid, but…she's struggling. You know I don't usually ask you about the night it all happened, and I'm not gonna start now, but...if there's ever anything you want to talk about, I'll listen. Okay?"

Yu smiled. "I'm fine, uncle Dojima. Really."

"Are you sure?" persisted Dad. "I mean, you can't use your legs anymore. You never complain about that. I know it must be tough for you. I don't want you to feel like no one notices."

"Honestly," Yu repeated, "I'm okay." Something about his smile, Nanako thought, didn't look quite right, though. If he really was okay, why did his eyes look so sad?

"Well...if you're sure." Dad gave up. "I'll clean up here. Nanako, finish your snack and go back to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Nanako dutifully gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, and hurried to do as he asked. Just before she left the room, however, she took a quick look over her shoulder, and saw that Yu was biting his lip while gazing down thoughtfully at the armrest of his chair. There was something in his expression that she didn't understand, but knew she didn't like.

**Moments later, at the flood plain…**

Minako sat down next to Tohru on the riverbank. Together, they listened to the little sounds the water made.

"This is kinda nice," Tohru said. "I guess it's not a bad idea to just relax like this sometimes. Maybe I didn't realize how nuts everything has been lately until just now."

"Is your job stressful?" asked Minako. "Are you taking a vacation in Inaba? The Amagi Inn is famous for their 'relaxing hot spring experience.' At least, that's what they say on all the commercials."

Minako could have sworn she heard a little shudder in Tohru's voice as he replied, "Nope, I'm not staying at the inn, and I don't think I will be anytime soon. I'm actually here to see someone. Or, maybe, it's more like I'm here to find out about someone."

"To find out about someone?" Minako was puzzled. "I don't understand."

"It's…complicated. I don't really get the whole thing myself." Tohru sighed. "I read in the paper that someone I knew had died. It was here in Inaba, so I came to check it out first-hand. Of course, that was six months ago. It wasn't easy to get away."

"I'm sorry," murmured Minako. "Was it someone you were close to?"

Tohru kicked a foot out into the river, making an audible splash. "I don't' think so," he told her. "Maybe. I'm not sure. This guy and I, we had a lot in common. A kindred spirit, I guess you might say. Not all the time, though. I mean, sometimes the guy just drove me crazy. He was so stupid about things, idealistic, always talking about 'the power of friendship,' and 'doing the right thing.' He sounded like an after school special."

Minako shrugged. "He sounds like a nice guy."

"Yeah," agreed Tohru, and this time there was a bitter, derogatory note in his voice that Minako hadn't heard there before. It startled her. "He was a nice guy, and I bet that's what got the dumbass killed in the end. You can't just go through life expecting to find good people and opportunities around every corner. The world doesn't work that way, and if you try to take it that way you'll just end up getting yourself hurt. Or dead, I guess, in his case. Anyway, I don't' really know why I came here. It was just a feeling I had, like I needed to come. Don't ask me how that makes sense."

Almost buried beneath the wry bitterness in Tohru's voice was a level of sharp pain that Minako couldn't help but recognize. "No," she assured him. "I think it makes sense. You want to know if you were right about him."

"Huh?" Tohru shifted next to her on the bank, and a little bit of soggy, sandy stuff crept on to the hem of her skirt.

"You say he was a stupid idealist," Minako elaborated. "If being idealistic got him killed, then you were right all along. That's why you're here. You want to know."

"So, it's an 'I told you so' kinda thing." Tohru sounded impressed. "I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe not. I don't actually know why I'm telling you all of this. Like you said, I don't even know you."

"And like you said," retorted Minako, "that's what makes it interesting. It's easier to talk to strangers."

"Yeah," agreed Tohru. "And you're a good listener. You've got one of those faces, you know? The kind of face that makes people just want to spill their secrets all over you." Under his breath, he muttered, "I guess I need to be more careful."

"Sorry?" asked Minako.

"I was just thinking, you probably get this sort of thing all the time." He laughed. "I bet it's annoying as hell, having to listen to everybody else's damn problems."

Minako couldn't reasonably argue with that. "It is," she admitted, "but it's nice to be helpful." That was true, she realized. It was a good feeling, finally being able to finally do something for someone else.

"You sound like him," Tohru was saying. "I don't know what they're teaching kids these days. Back when I was a kid, cynical was in. We all know what the real world was gonna be like. I guess lots of people had older siblings. Do you have any?"

"No," confessed Minako. "No brothers, no sisters, and my parents are dead. They've been dead for years."

"Oh, right, you said you live with your boyfriend." Tohru sounded thoughtful. "You know, this is starting to seem like a bad idea after all. You really shouldn't be out here alone with me. If you had parents, they'd have taught you to stay away from strangers. Especially strange, older men. Actually, my parents never taught me that, but it's different when you're a guy."

"Don't worry," Minako assured him, "my boyfriend takes care of all of that. He's overprotective enough to make up for a whole extended family. Besides, you don't seem so bad to me."

For some reason, Tohru didn't say anything for a moment, and Minako thought she could hear his slightly tenser breathing in the stillnesss of the night air. Then, finally, he told her, "You really have no idea. I told you already, you can't just assume things about people like that." Suddenly, he stood up. "You need to go home," he said firmly. "It's late. Seriously, get out of here. You should never have come out here with me in the first place. You're just lucky I'm not some crazy serial killer."

Minako heard his footsteps receding, and scrambled to her feet. "Tohru-san!" she called, but there was no response, and before long she couldn't hear any signs of him at all.

What, she wondered, had that been all about?

As she made her way, slowly and hesitantly back through the streets of the shopping district, Minako did have to admit to herself that all of this had been an absolutely terrible idea. Not only was she now not even certain she'd be able to make it back home, but Tohru had been right about the advisability of being out late at night with a man she had never met before in life. What if he'd ended up being the killer? She was stupid, stupid, stupid.

Still, hours later, as she finally reached out and found herself holding her very own doorknob, Minako found herself wondering how long he'd be staying in the area. She'd never asked him if he'd found out what he wanted to know about this friend. When he did, would he leave?

Shinjiro was waiting for her in the kitchen when she walked in. She half expected him to be angry, but he just sounded tired as he asked her, "Dojima-san kept you this whole time? Doesn't he ever sleep?"

"Um," muttered Minako. "I…"

"Forget it," said Shinjiro. "You look beat. Go get some rest."

The two of them got into bed together, with Minako feeling more than just a little bit guilty about letting Shinjiro assume the best of her. Then again, she hadn't actually done anything wrong, had she?

Then, she wondered, why was she so glad that he hadn't asked her where she really was?


	8. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Thanks for being patient with me this weekend. It was one of the busiest weekends I can remember, and I owe it to you for standing by while I took care of things. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

This chapter has Yosuke in it! I love chapters that have Yosuke in them. Huzzah.

Also, please keep on the alert for typos. I am…honestly barely unable to keep my eyes open right now, and I am certain that at least one or two errors will sneak by.

**Chapter Seven**

Minako's brain burned. She woke up with a fiery pain in her right temple, searing viciously through her ability to concentrate. Desperately, she tried kneading her head into the coolest corner of the pillow, hoping that it would assuage some of the pain, but that didn't really help.

"Hey." Shinjiro's hand was against her forehead, and she could feel his breath on her face as he leaned in towards her. "Headaches again?"

"Yeah…" She tried to nod, but moving her head suddenly seemed like a terrible idea. "It's really bad…"

Next to her, Shinjiro pushed off the covers, and she heard the sound of his feet as they hit the floor. "I'll get the pain medicine," he mumbled, still hoarse from sleep. Minako wondered if she'd woken him when she began to toss and turn from the pain.

"Shinji," she called out, "its okay, I'll get them!" There was no response. He must, she realized, have already the left the room.

Alone in the bed, barely able to complete a coherent thought, Minako tried to force herself to remember what had happened the night before. There were scratches on her arms and legs, and a bruise on her shoulder. How had they gotten there? Had she gotten into a fight? No, she remembered groggily, that wasn't it. She'd wandered into a thorn bush. Actually, she realized, as recollection began to dawn, she'd walked into several prickly plants, as well as a number of other things on her way back from the riverbank. It was amazing that she'd managed to make it back in one piece.

That was an exhilarating thought. Despite everything, despite all her inabilities, Minako had gotten from the riverbank to her own doorstep entirely unharmed, except for a couple of bumps. Maybe she was getting the hang of things after all. Never mind what her friends said, she was about as self sufficient as it got, maybe even more so than most people she knew, who would have gotten lost in the dark on a night like last night.

Again, a scorching pattern of pain rocketed through her temple. "Ow," she whimpered. "Shinji…"

There was a rattling, and then a faint crashing sound from the bathroom next door, indicating that Shinjiro may have gotten frustrated while looking for the pain meds. Only a few moments later, she felt a weight on the bed, and he pressed a couple of pills into her outstretched hand. "Here. Just two, right?"

Minako nodded, and swallowed the pills gratefully. It would take a while, she knew, for the medicine to kick in. "Thanks," she muttered. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't," Shinji told her. "I was up already. Yosuke called this morning. He wants to meet at Junes in an hour."

Minako sighed. "Why so early?" she asked. "Doesn't make a difference in that world what time we go."

"Dunno," said Shinjiro. "Maybe he's got work today."

Work, thought Minako. Belatedly, and somewhat guiltily, it occurred to her that she'd never asked Shinjiro about how his job hunt had gone the other day. "Hey," she began, "weren't you going to-!"

Shinjiro cut her off. "Don't have to," he insisted. "I already found something."

Minako was surprised. "You did? That's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me?"

There was a very slight pause, so short that Minako wasn't entirely sure she hadn't imagined it. "We've been busy," Shinjiro explained. "I forgot about it. Anyway, I start next week."

Something about the way that Shinjiro said those last words alerted Minako that everything wasn't quite right. "Start where?" she asked.

"Uh, actually, at the police station," muttered Shinjiro. "They needed a new security guy for the night shift. It works out. This way, you won't be walking home alone at night anymore."

Very slowly, Minako took a long, deep breath. I will not, she told herself, start shouting.

"So, is that why you took the job?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice calm and level. "So that you can follow me home every night and make sure I don't step in a hole and fall over? Or so that you can keep tabs on what I'm doing, and who I'm seeing? You know, just to make sure that I'm not going anywhere I shouldn't, or trying anything that might be too hard for me?"

"Minako," began Shinjiro warningly.

Minako ignored him. "Do we even need another security guard? Was there even a position available, or did you and Dojima –san create one between you, to make sure that I had someone to keep an eye on me? That works out beautifully for everyone, doesn't it? You get a new job, and Dojima-san doesn't have to lose sleep at night, worrying about the paperwork he'd have to fill out if, god forbid, I broke a nail on the job."

The rage was beginning to build now, for all of Minako's best efforts to keep her temper at bay. How dare Shinjiro try to interfere with the one place in her life where she was really starting to make herself useful? True, not as useful as she'd like to be, especially if Dojima-san had anything to say about it, but…at least she was making an effort. Now Shinjiro wanted to step in? He would probably spend the whole day following her around, making sure she didn't hurt herself, or try to lift anything heavy. She could, although she knew that it was in the hyperbole of frustration, even imagine him dogging her footsteps from room to room, holding his arms out on both sides to make sure that his poor, crippled girlfriend didn't have a chance to walk into another on her way through the station.

"You were the one," muttered Shinjiro desperately, "who wanted me to find work in the first place."

Minako sighed. "Yes," she agreed. "I wanted you to find work so that we could turn this into a real relationship, with both of us as equals. We said that we wanted to make something out of this, to have all of the things that we didn't think we were ever going to be able to have together."

"And I don't want o risk losing that," insisted Shinjiro. "I can't risk losing you. I don't understand why that pisses you off so much."

"I know." Minako's headache was throbbing dully now, pounding at the edges of her mind. "I know you don't understand, and that, that is what pisses me off."

It was time, she decided, to get out of the house. It was suffocating in here, and she was beginning to feel more and more trapped the longer this conversation went on. She didn't want to hurt Shinjiro, didn't want to yell at him or be cruel to him, but he was smothering her, and his presence right now was only making her feel worse.

"I'm going," she told him. "I'll see you tonight."

Sliding off of the bed, she grabbed a handful of clothes out of the closet, hoping against hope that they ended up being a set that she could reasonably wear to work.

"Here," began Shinjiro, reaching for the clothes. "Let me-!"

Minako snatched them away from him. "I've got it," she told him, coldly.

**An our or so later, at the Junes food court…**

Yu had been talking with Yosuke about Junpei.

All of the others, of course, had tried before. Yukiko, Chie, Rise, and even Kanji had encouraged him to see reason, to accept the fact that Junpei's gun hadn't been a real gun, and so he couldn't possibly have ever meant to hurt Nanako. He'd been scared, they kept insisting, and he'd made a mistake.

Yosuke, however, didn't see how threatening the life of a small child was a mistake. He wasn't ready to get over the fact that Junpei had pointed a weapon at the head of someone he really, truly cared about and wanted to protect. There was no, he told them firmly, getting over that sort of thing, and he was a little freaked out that they had managed to move past it so easily.

He'd still been fully comfortable and settled in that frame of mine several minutes ago, when Yu had pulled him aside to talk.

"Listen," Yosuke had said. "There's nothing you can do to change my mind. I hate the guy's guts. He can't be a part of the team, and if Shinjiro-san brings him today, I'm telling him that he's out. That's all there is to it."

"Yeah, okay," Yu had said, with one of his easygoing little shrugs. "I was just thinking, you know? What Junpei did to save Minako. Wouldn't you have done the same thing for me?"

Yu had left it there, and hadn't brought the topic up again or even asked Yosuke for a response, but somehow, Yosuke now felt a little bit foolish. The fact was that Yu, as usual, wasn't wrong. There was pretty much nothing that Yosuke wouldn't do or have done for his partner, and if it had been Yu's life on the line, Yosuke couldn't say with a straight face that he wouldn't have resorted to underhanded tactics. Hell, he'd almost willingly sacrificed the life of someone who he admired and respected in order to get Yu back. Minako had been ready to die so that Yosuke could save his partner. If there hadn't ended up being another way out, Yosuke probably would have let her do it.

So when Junpei and Shinjiro walked into the food court together this time, Yosuke made a conscious effort to look the other man in the eye. He didn't want to. He would never like or enjoy working with Junpei. Still, Yu had made a good point.

"Sup," said Junpei, jerking his head in Yosuke's direction.

"Hey," said Yosuke.

Junpei's eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance, Shinjiro interrupted.

"There's something wrong with Minako," said Shinjiro, looking frustrated and worried. "She's acting weird."

"What do you mean?" asked Yu. "What kind of weird?"

"Dunno, just…just weird," replied Junpei with a shrug. "She's moody all the time. This morning, Shinjiro-san says she shouted at him, and then I saw her walking down the street with a bright green sweater and a pink skirt on. Had to send her back to home to change, and when I offered to come and help, just as a joke, she snarled at me. That's…that's not our Minako. She's usually much cooler than that."

"I'm sure," murmured Yukiko, "that Minako-chan's having a very hard time lately. She has a stressful job, and it has to be hard trying to accomplish everything with her disability. Remember, she's not used to being blind, and it's only been six months. She's probably really struggling."

"Yeah, but…" Junpei exchanged a look with Shinjiro. "What if it's more than that? Remember what Theodore said about the shadows behind that weird door? What if it's getting worse in there and it's starting to really mess with Mina-tan's head?"

Shinjiro nodded. "She's been having those headaches again," he informed them.

Yosuke glanced over at Yu, who nodded. "I think," Yu said, "that it's worth looking into. I'd like to see what it's like inside my door as well. At least…" For a moment, he looked frustrated. "I'd like you to see."

"Oh, then count me in," said Junpei. "We're going in today, right? Great, then let's do it, before it gets any worse. You should have seen the look on her face today, when she walked out of the house. It was pretty scary, man. You gotta take my word for it."

Yosuke did not, in fact, have to take Junpei's word for it. The beleaguered look on Shinjiro's face told Yosuke everything he needed to know about the state Minako was in.

"Hey, uh, guys?" Kanji tentatively put up a hand to get their attention. "Don't you think we might be overreacting here? I mean, moody, angry, difficult…uh, doesn't that sound like something that girls do sometimes, you know, during a certain time of the month…"

Yosuke tried not to stare at Kanji in disbelief as Rise, Yukiko, Chie, and Naoto all turned around in their seats to glare daggers at Kanji.

"Wh-what?" asked Kanji, leaning away from them in surprise. "What did I say?"

"So," managed Yosuke, clearing his throat. "It'll be me, Junpei, Shinjiro-san…and we need a healer. Yukiko, are you in?"

"Definitely," agreed Yukiko, with a determined look on her face. "I'm ready."

"What about Nanako-chan?" asked Teddie, speaking up for the first time. "Shouldn't we bring her along? After all, she is pretty powerful…and so cute when she fights!"

"No," said Yu firmly.

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, "there's no need for that. And quit hitting on Nanako, Teddie. It's gross. She's not even ten. Chair or not, Yu can probably still beat you up if he wants."

"Probably?" asked Yu.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Author's Note:** Okay, so, the next two chapters were difficult to write. I actually had to rewrite both of them multiple times. It was a bit of a headache, but I think I'm satisfied now with what I've turned out.

A question for you all: Can anyone tell me what the horse shadow at the beginning of this chapter is representing or implying? It's a tricky one, I grant you…think of the phrase "get off your high horse."

Also: Yes, Minako IS behaving like an idiot with massive character flaws, and YES, I am doing that intentionally! The shadows in her brains, of course, are really not helping… I'm kind of enjoying the contrast between Yu's very sort of zen, mature nature, and Minako's fiery temper. We're gonna have a lot more fun with that later. Oh, and, uh, you all read the summary for this story, right? So we're not going to have anybody going "whoa, wait, Minako x Adachi? What? NO WAY!" Cause…it was totally in the summary. I'm just sayin'.

And finally, many of you have mentioned the fact that Yu seems to be having a much easier time of it than Minako! You're right! Yu is not having that hard of a time _yet._ Don't' worry, I'm an equal opportunity character torturer, and I haven't forgotten him. The plot point that triggers his trouble is still a little ways off…

Oh, and by the way: **WARNING: The following chapter contains potentially disturbing content including aggressive physical behavior. You have been warned. **

**Chapter Eight**

Yosuke, Shinjiro, Junpei and Yukiko, accompanied by Rise, walked into the Velvet Room, aware that Igor was watching them with his usual amount of slightly too much interest.

"Welcome," he said, "to the Velvet Room. Are you here on behalf of your friends?"

"Yeah," muttered Junpei. "We're all ready to kick some brain-eating shadow ass, so let's do this."

Again, thought Yosuke idly, with the brain-eating thing. And what was with this guy's bravado? Didn't he ever just answer a question?

From her seat by Igor's side, Margaret said, "I'm glad you've come. There's something you need to see."

Rise remained behind, a few wary feet from Igor's chair, while Margaret led the others over to Minako's nightmare door.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Junpei. "When even she looks worried, you know there's something about to go down. I mean, what exactly are Margaret and Elizabeth, anyway? They're not human. Hot, yes. Human, no."

"I am flattered," murmured Margaret, in a flat, completely disinterested tone of voice.

Junpei flushed pink. "Wait, she can hear me?"

Before Yosuke even had a chance to respond, Shinjiro went ahead and did it for him. "Shut up," he growled.

They went through the door, and were soon standing in front of the two doors marked with Izanagi and Izanagi-No-Okami. This time, there were no shadows visible outside either of the doors, and that, at least was something of a relief to Yosuke, who had half expected to be ambushed the moment he walked into the room.

"Through here," said Margaret, gesturing at the door to Minako's mind. "There has been a breach in the sanctum, one that is greatly troubling. We would like you to handle it."

"Guys?" Suddenly, Rise's voice was in Yosuke's mind, and she did not sound happy. "Guys, no matter what you do, do not go through that door. There is something…something awful on the other side, and you do not want to be anywhere near it."

"Something 'awful?'" asked Yosuke. "Can you be a little more specific?"

"It's…pulsing," said Rise, sounding uncertain.

"Pulsing," repeated Yosuke. "That is not helpful. What does that even mean?"

Shoving forward past the others, Shinjiro put his hand on the door."I'm going in," he muttered.

"Yeah," agreed Junpei. "If there's something 'pulsing' and 'awful' in Mina-tan's head, then we're here to take it out! Just call me 'the exorcist.'"

"That's not what 'exorcist' means," insisted Yosuke. "Besides, Rise just told us that-!"

It was, of course, too late. Together, Junpei and Shinjiro had already shoved open the door, and all four of the team members stepped back as they caught their first sight of what was lurking inside.

"Oh," said Junpei. "Oh, shit."

The shadow was huge. It wasn't just huge; it seemed to be growing, and taking up more and more of the room the longer that Yosuke looked at it. It was shaped like a horse, with a huge, rearing head, and hoof-like shapes around where its feet would be, which looked as though he could do some serious damage. Rise had been right, thought Yosuke. The thing was pulsing, radiating waves of orange and violet, giving off a strange sort of sickening metallic glow as it stood there, staring at them, and preparing to make its first move.

"Go!" said Rise, urgently. "Run! Don't' be stupid, senpai! That thing is way more than you guys can handle!"

Yosuke looked around at the stunned faces of the other three members of his team. Junpei and Shinjiro could make their own decisions, but Yukiko was definitely his responsibility, and he had to get her out of there before anything bad happened. If Rise said that the shadow was too much for them, she was probably right. Yosuke had learned a long time ago that trying to play the hero was more than likely to get both him and the rest of his friends killed.

Junpei, however, didn't wait for his word. Apparently ignoring Rise's warning, he pulled out his evoker and fired, releasing his persona and a subsequent agidyne attack that engulfed the shadow horse's head in a ring of flames. Unfortunately the fire seemed to have no effect at all, and soon flickered out, leaving the shadow totally unharmed and even more enraged than it had been the moment before. It pawed menacingly at the ground with its two front hooves.

"Move," insisted Shinjiro, elbowing Junpei out of the way. Planting himself squarely in front of the shadow, he, too, called forth his persona and drove a powerful axe blow at the enemy. Without so much as flinching, the shadow horse deflected the blow, sending Shinjiro stumbling backwards, cursing under his breath.

"Hey!" Rise was now almost screaming inside their heads. "What is going on out there? I told you already, you're not going to win! Stop playing heroes and get out there before someone gets hurt!"

"Nothing's working," said Yosuke. "Rise, what can we use against this thing?"

"Didn't you hear me?" I said nothing! Nothing is going to work! I can't figure out how you're supposed to hit it."

"You never said that!" insisted Yosuke. "That would have been really good to know before we started attacking it!"  
Rise was annoyed. "I tried," she reminded him, "to warn you, but noooo, nobody wanted to listen to me…"

The shadow horse reared up on its hind legs, and kicked out at Shinjiro, who, still recovering from being knocked back, couldn't dodge, and only managed to block the main force of the blow with his left arm.

While in the process of curing Shinjiro, Yukiko remarked, "Hey, Rise, Yosuke? I don't want to interrupt, but now doesn't seem like the right time for this…"

"We're going back," Yosuke shouted, and, grabbing Yukiko by the wrist, he made for the door. Behind him, he heard Shinjiro grunt in angry surprise as Junpei, apparently having reached the same conclusion, started dragging him along behind. The hooves of the horse were now loudly audible against the ground, and they were out the door and closing it behind them just in time to turn around and see the shadow horse rearing up on its hind legs with a deadly glint in its terrible yellow eyes.

Then, the door was shut, and they heard the shadow pounding forcefully against it.

Nobody said anything for a long moment.

Finally, Margaret broke the stunned silence. "So," she said matter-of-factly, "you see the problem."

**That evening, at the riverbank…**

Minako left work early, aware that Dojima was unlikely either to notice or care. From the moment she'd left the house that morning, she'd had one thing on her mind, and it was still at the forefront as she hurried along the flood plain down towards the riverbank.

The night before, she'd met someone here who she had felt really needed her help. Maybe it had only been because he'd seemed lonely, and needed a stranger to talk to, but there had been something about the pain in his voice that had stuck with her and haunted the back of her mind since they'd met. Tohru, she knew, wasn't the kind of man to follow a woman around and breathe down her neck all the time. He wasn't, as he had put it, a "babysitter." At the moment, he was the only person in the world that she could think of wanting to talk to, and the closer she got to the riverbank, the more she hoped she'd find him there.

Minako wandered along the bank for several minutes, starting to wonder if maybe it was foolish to look for him here, when really, he could be anywhere in Inaba, or even in another part of the country by now. It was with relief, then, when she finally heard a familiar sigh.

"Oh," muttered Tohru. "It's you again. Momoko, right?"

"Minako," she corrected him doubtfully. Something didn't sound right about the way that Tohru was talking. There was something cold in his voice that she didn't recognize from the night before.

"Yeah, right, Minako," said Tohru dismissively. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Um." Minako wasn't sure what to say. This man seemed like a totally different person from the one she'd been picturing in her mind all day. The voice was the same, but now it had a harsh, bored, bitter quality to it that jangled Minako's nerves and made her feel unexpectedly small and uncertain. "I was hoping I'd find you here," she began.

"Yeah?" asked Tohru. "Why? I told you last night, didn't I? You shouldn't be here."

"Then why," insisted Minako, "did you ask me to come out here with you last night?"

"Can't you guess?" sneered Tohru. "Come on, give it a try. Here, I'll even give you a hint. You're a cute teenage girl, in a short skirt to boot. So, what do you think I was thinking about when I asked you down here? I figured you might be a good time if I got you alone, but…I ended up getting bored with you after all, so I left. I guess that makes you a lucky girl."

Minako was both sorry and glad that she couldn't see his face. On one hand, she was sure that his facial expressions would make him much easier to read, while on the other hand she guessed that there was nothing on his face right now that would make her feel any better. "You're lying," she murmured, shaking her head. "You were never going to hurt me."

"Oh yeah? You sure about that?" Suddenly, Tohru's hands were tightening around Minako's waist, and she could feel his hot breath close against her face. She knew that she should be frightened, should scream out for help, but somehow all Minako felt was the certainty that something was still very off about Tohru. He was so much colder, so much crueler than he'd been the night before. It was such a sudden, drastic change, almost a caricature of a movie villain, or the antagonist from a teenage girl's most terrifying, sex-ed induced nightmare. It was too menacing. Somehow, it almost didn't' feel real.

She decided to take a chance.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Author's Note: **This chapter. This. Chapter. I cannot begin to tell you how aggravating this chapter was to write. I've actually rewritten it, from scratch, six different times.

For one thing, Adachi is a hard character to write. For another thing, this scene was really difficult to convey with absolutely no visual cues or description whatsoever. For a third thing, every time I work on it, the song "Madness" by Muse plays in my head. You should go ahead and listen to that if you really want to get the full feel of this chapter.

I must move on with my life. If I do not finally post this thing, it may drive me to distraction. Please be gentle, this time, with your reviews. Remember, all of us are still a work in progress, and so, unfortunately, is this chapter.

In other, much better news, I got to meet and talk to four readers last night who had never reviewed the story before! It's always delightful to hear from you guys. Thank you!

So, my students have informed me that tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I'm going to write a fluffy, romantic little one-shot for V-day, but I'm not sure what to write about. What are your favorite Persona pairings?

**WARNING: This chapter contains a situation that almost turns into a rape. There was no way around it. If I want to access Adachi's better nature, I'm going to have to deal with his awful parts first. Anything else would be cheating.** **Obviously sexual assault is a truly horrible unpardonable crime, and it will not be seen again in this story. You have been warned. **

**Chapter Nine**

Taking a deep breath, Minako called his bluff.

"You're overdoing it," she informed him, hoping against hope that she wasn't imagining things. "It's an act. I don't' know why, but you're trying really hard to scare me away. It won't work. I've always been good at reading people."

Gently, she pushed at Tohru's hands, and felt them fall limply away from her waist. Tohru sucked in a sharp, surprised breath. "Dumbass," he muttered." Most of the threat was gone from his voice, and again Minako could hear more of the man she'd met outside of Shiroku the night before.

Sounding both deflated and grudgingly impressed, Tohru told her, "I'm not making this up. I really did bring you down here last night to take advantage of you. I mean it."

I wonder, thought Minako, if I already knew that. For some reason, it didn't seem to come as a surprise to her, although she knew she should have been upset. Then again, she was no stranger to human nature. Maybe last night she just hadn't really cared.

"Hey," Tohru was saying. "Did you hear me? Are you listening? I just said that I was gonna rape you. I thought you were blind, not deaf."

"Why?" asked Minako. "Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I…seriously? Wh-what kind of a question is that?" Tohru laughed, a bit nervously. "Jeez, you really are something else, you know that?"

"Why?" persisted Minako. "You could have done it just now if you wanted to. I'm sure you're stronger than me. There's no one else around. What's stopping you?"

"I…" Tohru didn't seem to have an answer to that for a moment. Finally, in a lower, almost embarrassed voice he mumbled, "I don't get you. Just now, you go and say something crazy like that, and then last night…it was the way you looked at me. My hands were tied."

"Because of the way I looked at you?" asked Minako. "I didn't look at you. I can't look at anything, remember?"

"You know what I mean," insisted Tohru, frustrated. "Last night, when we were sitting here, you leaned over to me and you said something only a stupid, naive kid would say, like 'besides, you don't seem so bad.' You looked at me like I was this really cool guy, or someone you might even want to get to know. Like I was a real person, a human being. I…I don't' remember the last time someone's looked at me like that." Again, there was that nervous laugh. "I…kinda liked it. It felt good. I didn't want you to get the chance to see me any other way."

In the silence that followed his words, he sat down on the bank, and Minako realized that she'd been holding her breath until that moment. "Wipe that pitiful look off your face, huh?" muttered Tohru. "I didn't earn it and I don't want it."

Sitting down carefully next to him, not quite within an easy arm's reach, Minako shook her head. "No pity," she assured him. "I just think it might be time to get some new friends, if they look at you like you're not human."

"Heh, maybe I'm not," said Tohru bitterly. "What do you know about it?"

There were so many underlying layers of loathing and pain in his voice that Minako wished for the second time that evening that she could see his face. She didn't, she realized, actually have any idea what Tohru looked like. For all of his bitter words and frustrated talk, he didn't sound like a monster. If he'd really been like that, she told herself, he never would have tried to scare her away, never would have told her truth about his intentions the night before. She wanted to know what he was really like.

"Okay," she suggested suddenly. "Let's play a game."

"That's all you've got to say?" Tohru sounded wryly amused. "You sure you're not twelve after all?"

"Very funny," retorted Minako. "Anyway, it'll work like this. I bet that I can prove that you're human. If I can do it, then I win, and if I win, then you have to come with me over to Junes and buy me an ice cream."

"Girls your age shouldn't be eating ice cream," said Tohru. "You'll gain weight. Isn't that a big deal in high school? What do I get if I win?"

Minako shrugged. "I don't' know, bragging rights? I'll make you a big banner that says 'warning: evil demon spirit' on it, or something."

Tohru laughed, and this time it was almost a genuine, untainted laugh. "You're on," he said. "This'll be interesting, at least. So, how are you going to prove it?"

"Hold still." Minako crawled over closer to him, and placed both hands lightly against his chest. Slowly, careful to avoid anywhere sensitive, she moved her hands up towards his shoulders.

He wasn't, she realized, with just a twinge of disappointment, muscular like Shinjiro. Instead, Tohru was pretty slight for a guy, almost skinny.

Underneath her fingers, Tohru tensed up. "Wait," he asked. "What are you doing? This isn't…that kind of game is it? Not that I'm against that sort of thing, it's just…"

"Don't get your hopes up," said Minako. "I'm figuring out what you look like."

Relaxing slightly, Tohru mumbled, "Oh, right, sure. Well, that's too bad." He squirmed, and then added, "Hey, that uh…that kinda tickles."

"I can stop if it bothers you," said Minako, preparing to move away from him.

He pressed her hands back against his chest. "N-no," he said hastily, "no, I didn't say it was a bad thing. Not bad, not bad at all…just different.

Minako realized, somewhat to her surprise, that she was enjoying this. "Different? You mean, you don't spend all of your time being groped by blind people? You're missing out."

"Well, I am definitely starting to get that sense, yeah," agreed Tohru.

Minako's fingers encountered a button, and then the bottom of what turned out to be a tie. "What color tie?" she asked.

"What? Oh, white shirt, red tie," replied Tohru. "Why?"

Minako smiled to herself. "Snappy dresser, huh?"

"Heh…I try, I guess." Underneath her hands, Tohru shifted awkwardly. "Not sure why, not like anybody's paying attention." As her fingers began to trace along his jaw line, Tohru opened his mouth, closed it again, and then managed, "You're teasing me, aren't you? You really think that's a good idea, under the circumstances?"

"I am not," Minako insisted, "doing anything like that. I told you, we're proving a point. Besides, I'm not scared of you. You're not going to hurt me. If you were going to, you'd have done it already. You've had plenty of opportunities. Instead, you tried to scare me off. My friend Junpei always says that most guys would jump any girl in the middle of the street, if they thought they could get away with it. They don't, though. Everybody has feelings and urges that they're ashamed of. What matters is what we do, not what we wish we could do." There was a mist of sweat, she found, on Tohru's forehead, and his cheeks were warm. "You're uncomfortable," she told him.

"That's…not exactly the word I would use," mumbled Tohru. "And that thing you said…there you go again, sounding like a dumbass. You sound just like him, actually. That guy I told you about. He was all about starting over, and second chances…but it doesn't work that way. You can't change who you are. Trust me, I've tried. Trying only stresses you out, and that just makes it worse. Nobody around here believes in second chances. Maybe if I'd met you years ago, then…everything would have worked out differently, but as it is, what's the point in thinking about it? Wishful thinking doesn't win anything. All it does is waste time."

"Done," said Minako, dropping her hands back into her lap.

Tohru let out an exaggeratedly large sigh. "Okay," he said. "What's the verdict, doctor?"

"You're definitely human." Minako shrugged. "You look just like one. Now I'm sure."

"Wow." Tohru laughed. "Doesn't that seem a little anticlimactic? No, I like it," he added, as Minako opened her mouth to protest. "I like it a lot. It's nice to hear. I don't know if that really counts as proof, though…"

Before Minako had a chance to insist upon her ice cream, an all-too familiar searing pain shot through her forehead, eliminating any coherent thoughts she was trying to have. The pain was so bad this time that it caught her off guard, and she swayed for a moment, off balance from the force of the ache.

"Whoa, watch out!" Tohru reached out and grabbed her, keeping her upright and away from the nearby waters. "No wonder your friends think you're useless. You can't even sit up straight by yourself."

As the pain receded, almost as quickly as it had come, Minako smiled weakly. "I thought you said," she reminded him, "that you weren't going to catch me if I fell into the river."

"And I thought you said," retorted Tohru, "that you weren't going to need me to!"

"Oops," admitted Minako. "Okay, you're right. I guess that means you've been my hero twice now. Once at Shiroku, and then just now."

She expected Tohru to laugh it off, but instead he went quiet for a moment, before saying, more sincerely than she'd heard him speak yet, "Yeah…I think I like being your hero. Wouldn't mind doing it again sometime." Then, in a louder voice, as though suddenly trying to cover, he said, "maybe I'll push you into the river, just so I can pull you out again. That'll make three."

"As long as you do pull me out again," said Minako. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad."

"Really?" asked Tohru, and Minako became suddenly very aware of the fact that he was still holding her up after her close encounter with the river. His heart was pounding against her chest, and she tried to ignore the fact that hers was keeping time. "Well then," he teased her. "In that case, why don't I do it right now?"

He lurched forward, and Minako, instinctively afraid of being pitched into the water, grabbed on to his arms to steady herself. Her face brushed against the front of his shirt, and she heard his sharp intake of breath.

It wasn't a conscious choice. She never exactly meant to do it, and later, when she looked back, Minako couldn't really explain to herself why it had happened. Maybe it was the stress of the past few days, and all the angry, frustrated, confused feelings screaming to get out of her head. Maybe she was just enjoying the delicious, illicit feeling of being wanted by someone she shouldn't have. Whatever it was, whatever the reason, Minako reached up and kissed him. She felt him lean instantly into the kiss, and his hands tightened convulsively around her waist, boosting her up higher to make her mouth easier to reach. "Mngh," he mumbled.

They lingered there for a moment before Minako broke the kiss, her face flushed hot with shame and embarrassment. That, she knew, had been a terrible mistake. She couldn't just go around kissing strangers, even if they were brooding older men from mysterious faraway places. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed the kiss. She had. She'd enjoyed it very much, but…Shinjiro's face floated up into the front of her mind, and Minako felt a little bit sick to her stomach all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, not entirely sure who she was apologizing to. "I need to go home."

"Shouldn't you have figured that out a while ago?" asked Tohru breathlessly. "Why the rush all of a sudden?" He didn't let go. Instead, he kissed her again, and then again. They were hungry, hurried kisses, and she heard his breathing getting heavier as his tongue forced its way into her mouth. Minako tried to break away from him, but his fingers dug into the small of her back, pushing her into him.

"Tohru-san," she breathed. "Let go of me."

"Don't look at me like that," he insisted, panting. "You kissed me. You started it. What'd you expect me to do? It's not nice to tease…I'm sure your boyfriend's told you that."

Come to think of it, Minako thought, Shinjiro had made that point on several occasions. He'd told her that she drove him crazy and shouldn't do certain things if she didn't plan to follow through with them. He was usually kidding, though, or blushing while he said it. This was different. Tohru wasn't joking around at all, and this time he wasn't trying to scare her, or put on an act. This was very, very real, and this Tohru, the one who had his arms around her now, was a very different person from the slightly nervous jokester that she'd been talking to only moments before. Minako felt herself getting really frightened for the first time that night. She tried to quell the panic that was beginning to rise inside her.

Pressing her unyieldingly backwards, Tohru lowered her down on to the bank and then climbed on top of her, one hand gripping her by the shoulder while the other began to pull at the edge of her sweater.

"Tohru, stop," insisted Minako. "Enough, leave me alone. Please, I want to go home, I'm…I'm scared."

At first, he didn't seem to hear her, and his hands continued to tear at her clothing Minako tried desperately to think of a sound escape strategy.

He doesn't really want this, she told herself. If he did, he'd never have tried to scare me off when I first got here tonight. Part of him is still willing to fight against this. On a sudden impulse, she lifted both of her hands up to his face and forced him to turn his head to look her in as close to her eyes as she could reasonably estimate.

"Stop," she told him, and was delighted to hear the lack of quaver in her voice. "This isn't what you want, there's more to you than this. Please."

Even before she finished speaking, Minako felt him shudder, and then go still against her hands. Slowly, his fingers played over the rift in her sweater that he'd managed to tear, and then, gasping out a breath, he abruptly pushed himself away from her and scrambled to his feet.

"Goddamnit," he muttered, incredulously. "How do you…?"

Minako pulled herself up, and waited a moment until she knew she was breathing steadily again. Her heart rate began to slow back to its normal pace, and the urge to scream started to die away.

"Tohru-!" she began.

Tohru cut her off almost before she'd even begun. "You're wrong about me," he muttered, with a bitter, desperate little laugh. "I'm nobody's hero. Don't…don't kid yourself. You won't' have any better luck than he did." Minako could hear the self loathing dripping off of his voice, and instinctively, despite the illogical stupidity of the gesture, she reached out to him. He recoiled from her instantly.

"Now get out of here," he told her. "Go home, okay? Don't come looking for me again. You might not be so lucky next time. Maybe neither of us will." With that, he turned around and walked off, leaving Minako, for the second time, abandoned on the flood plain the dark.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note: **Well, isn't this lucky. I got to class tonight and so many people are sick that the row behind me is completely empty, which means no one will be able to see that I am not taking lecture notes, but am in fact writing stories. I'mhonestly usually a better student than this. Really! It's just that I feel like I already took all of this material in another course…

But I digress. You guys were truly wonderful to me in your thoughtful and kind responses to the last chapter. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts, it really helped me out and gave me some confidence.

So now, for your reading pleasure, some Minako and Yosuke, because that will be a very nice change from all the Adachi…won't be long till he's back though.

I put together a Valentines Day piece for you guys, as promised! I'm going to try to type it up tonight, but if you don't see it tonight, then I will definitely post it tomorrow. Either way, thanks for all of the great ideas!

**Chapter Ten**

After she was sure that Tohru was really and completely gone, Minako started to wander back along the flood plain, feeling dazed and full of confused inexplicable feelings.

What, she asked herself, had just happened?

Her heart was still racing, and no matter how hard she tried, Minako couldn't seem to calm herself down. She'd almost been raped. There was still mud streaked down her back and caught up in her hair from the moment when Tohru had pushed back against the riverbank. Her sweater was torn, and there were threads drifting down from it and catching on twigs and other pieces of inconvenient nature, which only served to tear it further.

I will probably, she thought, have to throw this sweater out. After all, I doubt I can ever wear it again with this huge hole in it. That very thought was so bizarre that it worried her. Why wasn't she scared? She knew she should be sobbing and desperate and panicked, and above all else frightened. Instead, all she could think about was the pain and the loathing in Tohru's voice when he'd spat out the words, "you're wrong about me.'" He had sounded so…so defeated. She was still fighting the urge to run after him, to soothe him and to promise him that she wasn't scared and that he hadn't hurt her. At the same time, within the very same thought, she wanted to get as far away from him as she possibly could.

"Oh god," muttered Minako to herself, as she walked past the shrine. "It's finally happened. I've snapped. I'm going insane. Maybe I'm already insane." She certainly felt scattered enough to warrant that conclusion.

"Hey! Minako!" Yosuke's voice called out to her, and soon she heard footsteps pounding over the ground to meet her. "Are you going back to the…whoa." He stopped mid-sentence, as if he'd lost his train of thought.

Aware of what she must look like right now, Minako fidgeted uncomfortably, poking her finger through the sweater hole as she muttered, "Um…Yosuke. Hi."

"What…what happened to you?"He reached up and wiped off a speck of mud that was apparently still clinging to her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," mumbled Minako. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. I…" There didn't seem to be any good, coherent excuse that she could make to explain this away. Of course, she could always tell him the truth. The truth, being something along the lines of "I was making out with a mysterious stranger, and he decided he didn't want to let me stop," was somehow too hard for Minako to admit. What if Yosuke got angry? He and the others were always telling her not to go out on her own, in case she got herself into trouble. This definitely counted as "getting into trouble," and her friends would only get stricter and more problematic if they found out that they might have been right all along. What if Yosuke told Shinjiro about this? That was a prospect so bad, it wasn't even worth contemplating.

"I was restless," she told him, "and I wanted to walk along the river like Shinji and I do sometimes. There was this low tree branch, and I got caught, so then I-!"

"Yeah, you know, there's a reason that Shinji usually goes with you," interrupted Yosuke. "Man, I'm just glad you didn't fall in. Can you imagine what Shinjiro-san and that guy Junpei would do if you drowned? We'd have gone to all that trouble last year for nothing."

Minako breathed out a little sigh of relief."Yeah," she muttered, "sorry. You're right. I should go home to Shinji, he'll be worried."

"Nah," said Yosuke. "I mean, yeah, he would be worried, if he knew, but he and Junpei went out drinking tonight. They probably don't even know you're not there."

Shinjiro was out drinking? That didn't sound good, thought Minako. Shinjiro never went out drinking. He didn't ever drink, unless it was to add some extra flavor to the food. "Oh," she murmured, more to herself than to Yosuke. The idea of Shinjiro drinking his troubles away at some pub only made her feel worse about the mess she'd gotten herself into. What was she going to say to him when he got home?

"You look messed up," Yosuke informed her. "I mean…not, like, ugly, or anything, just…uh, you look like you had a rough day. I'm going over to Yu's place, you wanna come? I'm pretty sure he won't mind. Besides, Nanako-chan likes you."

Minako did not want to be alone with her thoughts right now, and she didn't want to sit at home and dread some kind of a confrontation with Shinjiro. "Yeah," she agreed readily. "Thank you, that'd be nice."

"Great." Yosuke sounded relieved. "Cause there's something I want to talk to you about. Uh…you're not going to like it, though."

As they walked back together through the streets of the shopping district, Yosuke filled Minako in on the things they'd seen inside the Velvet Room. She'd already known about the shadows attacking her mind. After all, Yosuke had explained to her about the first one that Nanako had defeated. The giant horse shadow, however, interested her. Something about the idea of a horse sparked some kind of vague recollection.

"Horses," she muttered. "What are horses supposed to represent?"

"Who knows," sighed Yosuke. "Horses smell, and they're scary…I don't like horses. When I was a kid, my mom took me to this petting zoo, and the guy there offered to let me ride the pony. I was on the ground in, like, two minutes, and it hurt!"

Minako smiled, picturing a tiny version of Yosuke falling off of a horse with a very surprised, indignant look on his little face. "But horses," she insisted, "mean something. I wish I could remember…"

"Well, whatever it is," replied Yosuke, "if we don't get it out of there, it's gonna start making you crazy. At least, that's what Margaret says. Junpei thinks that's why you get those bad headaches, right? So, maybe if we kill it, the headaches will stop. I bet you'd love that. Shinjiro-san says they keep you both up at night."

Crazy, thought Minako. The shadows are making me crazy. Theodore had said something about that too, hadn't he? All of these things she'd been feeling lately, were the shadows responsible for that? If only she could be sure that were true, maybe she wouldn't have to feel so guilty about what had happened tonight.

By this time, they'd arrived at the Dojima residence, and Yosuke was ringing the doorbell. "Yosuke," announced Minako, probably more loudly than she'd intended. "I need you to do something for me."

"Sure," said Yosuke. "What's up?"

"I need you," said Minako, "to help me get inside the Velvet Room."

She heard the door to the house creak open, just as Yosuke shouted, "What? No, no way! No way, not a chance."

"What's going on out here?" asked Yu. "Keep it down, Nanako just went to bed."

Yosuke, Minako, and Yu all went into the house, with Yosuke still protesting loudly, if not quite as loudly as before.

"She just asked me," he explained to Yu, "to put her inside the TV. Can you believe that? Minako, you've seen what happens to people without personas who go in there. The get attacked by their other selves. People…people have gotten killed in there." Minako heard the sudden chill in Yosuke's voice, and knew that he was thinking of the girl whom Yu had told her about, the girl named Saki Konishi. "What do you want to go in there for anyway?"

"I want," said Minako, "to talk to Igor. I want to understand about the shadows, and the mind doors, and everything. You can't expect me to just sit out here and do nothing while battles go on inside my head."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I expect you to do," retorted Yosuke. "You're better off waiting than dead, okay? Its okay, we've got this. It's under control."

"That's not fair." Minako was trying very hard to keep her voice level. "There's so much that I don't understand. I'm getting all this information, and all of these stories from you guys second-hand, but I want to know what's going on for myself. Maybe that won't help at all, but maybe it will. It's my head, isn't it? Maybe I'll even be able to do some good. No one knows my own head better than I do." Although, she had to admit to herself, lately she'd been feeling less and less sure of and in touch with what was really going on with her thoughts and feelings. That was, of course, the main reason she wanted into the Velvet Room so badly.

Unexpectedly, Yu spoke up in Minako's defense. "Actually," he admitted, "I'd like to see Igor as well. I have a lot of questions that he might be able to answer."

"What, you too?" Yosuke was getting desperate. "Come on, guys, this is insane. Don't ask me to do this. The other guys would kill me if they found out I put you in danger. I'm not even sure I could blame them. Try to understand where I'm coming from, here. And…besides." Suddenly, Yosuke's voice lowered, and he was more serious than Minako usually heard him being. "It's not just the others. Didn't we agree that you guys were done with this stuff? I mean, you almost died. No, you did die, both of you. You died. Isn't once enough for one lifetime? Wait…no, that didn't make sense, what I meant was-!"

"We know what you meant," said Minako. "Yosuke, everything will be fine. Yu and I can't face our other selves in the TV world anyway, because our other selves are currently holding the seal together, remember?"

"And what about the other shadows?" Yosuke persisted. "What's gonna stop them from coming after you?"

"I was hoping that you would," murmured Yu.

"Please, Yosuke," added Minako, in the most pleading, trusting tones she could manage.

Yosuke sighed. "Look," he said. "Even we went ahead with this, and even if I did come with you, I wouldn't be enough. There are two of you, tons of shadows, and only one of me. What kind of odds are those? We'd need at least one other persona user, and nobody else is gonna come out with us at this time of night. Shinjiro-san and Junpei are probably drunk right now, the girls are almost definitely asleep, and Kanji-!"

From over by the stairway, someone gave a sleepy little cough.

"Are you…going into that place?" asked Nanako blearily. "I want to come."

"No," said Yu."Go to back to bed, Nanako. We're sorry we woke you."

"Yeah," muttered Yosuke. "This idea is nuts enough as it is without getting you involved, Nanako-chan."

Nanako yawned. "But…I want to help," she said, with about as much stoic determination as a half-asleep eight year old girl could manage. "I can help, too. Icarus and I can help together. Big Bro…please?"

Yosuke grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "We," he said to Yu, "should probably stop letting Minako and Nanako hang out together…"


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note: **This was not one of the most fun chapters ever to write, because it's mostly exposition. In fact, this chapter could be entitled "Theodore answers your questions about the rest of this story." However, the stuff revealed in this chapter is so important and sets up so much of the plot for the next, like, twenty or thirty chapters.

Again, this is the part of the story where I make up some things and create new aspects of the Velvet Room and the world around it. Please keep an open mind, and I hope you enjoy!

Oh, PS: I'm going to Katsucon tomorrow. It's this big anime convention on the East Coast. I…don't actually watch any anime, so I'm not sure what I'll do there. Possibly I will sit there while my friends watch anime, and I will write another chapter…we shall see. Oh! Oh! I know what I'll do. They have lovely artists at these anime cons, right? Maybe I'll buy a commissioned drawing from an artist, so that I can finally have a piece of cover art for this story…that might be nice.

**Chapter Eleven**

Nanako opted to wear her pajamas to the Velvet Room.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked doubtfully, as they rode over to Junes in Yosuke's car. "I know it's not polite to wear sleeping clothes in front of other people."

"Igor's not 'people,'" Yosuke assured her. "Actually, no one really knows what he is."

"Besides creepy," added Minako.

Nanako was quiet for a moment. "I don't think he's so creepy," she said thoughtfully, after a pause. "After all, he's always very nice, and says 'welcome' whenever we come."

Minako began to wonder if, just possibly, Nanako was the most mature person currently in the vehicle.

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, who must have recognized the thought on Minako's face. "She definitely takes after her Big Bro."

Apparently, that made Nanako smile. Minako could hear the beaming grin playing all around Nanako's voice when she said "Yeah!"

They pulled up outside Junes, and Yosuke let them into the electronics department. "Okay," he said. "So…what now?"

Minako frowned. "Yu should go in first," she decided. "It'll take both of us to pick up his chair, and then you can push him in."

"Ugh, I really don't like the way you said that," muttered Yosuke. "Do you have to say 'push?' I mean, it's not like I'm forcing him."

"Fine," agreed Minako. "You can 'help' him in, then. Nanako goes in next, and then me, and then you. Okay?"

"You're sure you want to do this?" Yosuke sounded like he was still holding out hope for a different answer than he'd gotten the last ten or twelve times he'd ask the question.

"Yes," said Yu, "we're sure. Yosuke, thank you."

Yosuke grumbled something under his breath. "Don't thank me yet," he cautioned. "We still don't know if this is gonna work. Come on, Minako, let's get it over with."

Together, Yosuke and Minako managed to heave Yu's chair up on to their shoulders."Hang in there, partner," said Yosuke. "Here we go." He tipped the chair forward, and Yu tumbled into the TV, chair and all. "Oh good," sighed Yosuke, sounding relieved. "I was kinda worried that maybe the chair wouldn't go in, like that one time that we tried to bring along a rope. Okay, Nanako-chan, your turn."

Minako heard Nanako step cautiously into the TV, and then the sound of her footsteps and her breathing were gone, implying that she was already inside.

"And," finished Yosuke," now for you."

She expected for Yosuke to just shove her in, but instead Minako felt herself being picked up. "Hey!" she began, as Yosuke swung her awkwardly up into his arms. "Wait, Yosuke, put me-!"

"Sorry," countered Yosuke, sounding a little embarrassed. "Um…I think it's probably better if we go in together. You know. So you don't get hurt or something before I come in after you, you know?"

There was a strange, familiar blurring feeling to the air around them, and then Minako's feet touched down on the ground again.

"Good," said Yu. "We all made it."

"Yeah," grumbled Yosuke. "I was kinda hoping that it wouldn't actually work. Oh, well."

Minako, however, wasn't ready to celebrate quite yet. "We still have to get into the Velvet Room," she reminded them. "Yu and I can't go in without our personas, right?"

Yu, sounding uncharacteristically frustrated, said, "Unfortunately, I can't even see the door anymore."

Minako had already thought about that possibility on the drive to Junes. "I had a feeling that might happen," she told them. Walking over to Yu, she held her hand out to him. "Two halves of a thing make a whole, right? So, maybe we can go in together. If we're touching each other, that might…I don't know, create some kind of connection. Two bodies, one soul, that sort of thing."

"It's worth a try," agreed Yu. His hand closed around hers, and for a few tense moments, nothing happened.

"So?" asked Minako, trying not to let her impatient nerves show. "Can you see the door now?"

Yu sounded disappointed. "No," he said, "I still can't."

That was a serious setback. Of course, Minako had known that the idea might not work. Honestly, once she'd voiced the 'two bodies, one soul,' part out loud, it had sounded pretty stupid. Still, there had to be some way to get inside, and it had seemed reasonable that two partial souls who couldn't get in separately might be able to get if they joined together. At least, it had made sense in her head several minutes ago when she'd come up with it in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Well, okay, then in that case, I'm not sure how we're going to-!"

Nanako spoke up, interrupting Minako's train of thought. "Um," she asked, "you just want to talk to someone in the Velvet Room, right? Would it be okay to talk to Theodore?"

"Y-yes, I think so," replied Minako. After all, Theodore had always seemed to be fully attuned to the mysterious workings of the Velvet Room.

"Oh." Nanako sounded pleased. "Well, then I'll just go in and get him, okay? That'd be much easier. I'll be right back."

As Nanako's footsteps headed away from them, Yosuke sighed in exaggerated exasperation. "We could probably have just had her bring him out to us in the first place!" he exclaimed. "Man, how come none of us thought of that? You two didn't even have to come in here…and now my back is killing me from picking up that heavy chair."

Minako didn't answer. True, talking to Theodore would be the next best thing, but she had really hoped for a chance to see the door in her mind and the horse-shaped shadow for herself. Of course, there was no point in trying to explain that to Yosuke.

A few moments passed before Yu said quietly, "She's growing up. Even last time I came to visit, Nanako didn't seem so…"

"Old?" suggested Yosuke. "Precocious?"

"Poised," Yu finished. "She's more of a woman than a little girl. It's…kinda scary."

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed. "Just imagine how Dojima-san must feel. Oh, man, if he ever found out about us bringing her in here…do you think we could be arrested for this? Is there a charge?"

"There wouldn't be enough left of us to arrest," Yu assured him. "Oh, look, here comes Nanako with Theodore. That was fast."

"I found him!" Nanako came running up, breathless with pride. "I brought Theodore!"

Minako felt a brief and slightly embarrassing twinge of jealousy. Once upon a time, she had been the one with the special permission to escort the various denizens of the Velvet Room. Back then, it would have been her who had found the solution and saved the day. Now, of course, even Theodore, who had once admitted to her that she was more than just a special guest to him, came only when other people called. She had to wait around for help just for a chance to talk to him.

Theodore rested a hand on Minako's shoulder. "Nanako informs me that you have something to ask," he murmured. "How can I be of service?"

Minako bristled at the obvious pity she heard in his voice. Tohru had been right, pity was atrocious. "Yeah," she told him. "I do. I have a lot of questions. I want to know more about the doors, and about the horse shadow that Yosuke found, and…"

"I can think of a great question," interjected Yosuke. "Speaking of that shadow, how do we kill that thing?"

Minako ignored him. "I don't understand," she continued, aware that she was sounding a bit more like a petulant child than Nanako ever did. "What's happening to me?"

"And what about Yu? Is he gonna have shadows attacking him, too?" insisted Yosuke.

Theodore made a thoughtful little noise in his throat. "It is somewhat difficult to explain to a person from your world," he began. "As we told you once before, the loss of your persona has released the shadows into the parts of your mind that were once forbidden for them to enter."

"I know that," muttered Minako. "I know that, but, released from where? Where do they come from?"

"They…do not come from anywhere." Theodore sounded puzzled by the question. "They are created. Shadows are and will always be mere manifestations of human desires. The ones within your sanctum were simply brought forth from your own feelings."

Minako was already sorry she'd asked the question. This wasn't the answer that she'd hoped for at all.

"So, essentially," said Yu, "what you're telling us is that the shadow in Minako's mind is just the representation of what she really feels like?"

"Yeah, that's not so bad," said Yosuke, apparently relieved. "It's not like just feelings can hurt you, right?"

Theodore gave a polite little cough. "I am afraid it is worse than you seem to imagine. Again, I am having trouble deciding on the best way to explain it to you. ..but I shall try. Think of the doors in the mind of the persona user as thresholds, or rather, as inhibitions. Now, imagine that the shadows are feelings, very strong, powerful feelings that come from the deepest places in your own souls. As long as the shadows cannot pass through the doors, then the feelings are successfully inhibited, and cannot be transformed into actions. If the thresholds are breached, however, and the inhibitions are thus removed, all manner of things could be possible."

"So," attempted Yosuke, "like, if I was really hungry, and all that I could find in the house was a donut, even though In knew that I wanted to work on my abs…"

"Not exactly," murmured Theodore. "Perhaps I should provide an example. Are you familiar with the human expression 'I am so angry that I could just kill him?' It is, I believe, an expression of hyperbole."

"Yes," agreed Minako. There was a sick sort of feeling beginning in the pit of her stomach.

"Well," Theodore continued, apparently either oblivious to or unmoved by her growing distress, "Normally, one would simply have that thought, but be would also aware subconsciously that taking the action of actually killing the individual in question would be ridiculous and extreme. The continued presence, however, of the shadow within the sanctum exacerbates the feelings. The longer that the shadow feeds off of the mind, the weaker become the inhibitions, and the thoughts and actions become one and the same."

Silence reigned all around for what felt to Minako like an eternity.

Into the heavy atmosphere, Yosuke finally muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, "'feeding off of the mind…so, they really are eating her brains?"

"What do you mean?" insisted Minako. "My 'thoughts and actions will become one and the same?' Am I going to start killing people?"

"Not unless you are strongly inclined to do so already," replied Theodore reasonably. "The enhanced feelings are, after all, not created by the shadows, only intensified. They come from inside of you. No shadow can provide you with new desires that you do not already contain. The difference is that while you would normally resist a certain action that you know to be inappropriate or wrong, the presence of the shadow will prevent you from recognizing the true, correct path. Once the shadow is destroyed, of course, the feelings will cease to build, and everything will return to a state of normality."

"But we can't kill it!" exclaimed Yosuke. "It's crazy strong! The thing resists every attack we throw at it. How are we supposed to get rid of it? What are we supposed to do?"

"Ah." This time, Theodore sounded almost worried himself. "That is a question that, alas, I cannot answer for you."

Minako wondered idly to herself in the one tiny, obscure part of her mind that somehow hadn't already begun to panic, whether or not she was about to turn into some kind of serial killer. If she could commit any sort of horrifying atrocity, what would it be? Shaking her head, she dispelled those thoughts as fast as shecould. There was no reason for that to happen. There was no way that it would happen. Minako didn't have thoughts and feelings like that anyway, did she?

What, she couldn't help but think, about the time that she'd almost sacrificed Yu in order to save herself? According to Theodore, under the current circumstances, she'd never have been able to see her way clear to making that decision. It would have been a question purely of what she wanted, not of what she knew was the right thing.

Unexpectedly, Yu spoke up. "We know," he said slowly, "that the loss of the persona can cause this. Are there any other situations that might make the inhibitions lose control of the thoughts?"

"Huh?" asked Yosuke. "What do you mean, 'other situations?' What are you getting at?"

Again came that thoughtful noise from Theodore, as though the gears were actually turning in his head. Eventually, he re replied carefully, "Of course. While the loss of a persona encourages the shadows, one does not actually have to sacrifice it. A weak minded vessel, or a persona user who lacked the necessary strength of heart might suffer similar consequences. The user would lose control of the persona, the persona would lose control of the inhibitions, and the shadows would, again, take over the mind. It could not, you understand, happen to a normal person. Only a persona user both wields and attracts the kind of power that the shadows would be drawn to, but…none of you, of course, have anything to worry about in that respect. After all, it was your strength of character and your inner control that caused your persona to awaken in the first place. In that case, none of you would be ever to have to face-!"

"That's not true," interrupted Yu. "It's not true in my case. Unlike the others, I didn't awaken to my power by myself. Someone else forced me to find it."

Now that he mentioned it, Minako remembered Yosuke telling her all about how Yu had been different, and how the goddess Izanami had awakened his power in order to set her greater plans in motion. Still, it wasn't as though she'd created the power. It had been in Yu from the start, hadn't it? She'd just pushed him forward to find it. From everything Minako had seen of Yu, she had to admit that he was one of the most shining examples of a human being that she could possibly think of. The word "weak-willed described him as well as the words "clever," or "appropriate" might describe Teddie's sense of humor. It didn't fit.

"Come on, man," said Yosuke, who had apparently been thinking along similar lines. "You're not seriously worried, right? I mean, you're the greatest guy I know. You're the best. Right, Nanako-chan?"

"Right!" chirped Nanako, with unwavering loyalty.

Yu didn't say anything at all. Minako could still hear him breathing slowly a few feet away.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note:** So, today I went to Katsucon. I was not sure what to expect.

I am now the owner of two Adachi prints, one Minako print, one set of persona character buttons, one set of mini figurines of the persona 4 boys in their drag costumes, and a totally empty wallet.

…Wait, what just happened?

**Chapter Twelve**

Minako drove back to the Dojima residence with Yu, Yosuke, and Nanako. Dojima himself still wasn't home when they arrived, even though by then it was after ten o'clock. If Shinjiro and Junpei were still at the pub, she thought, then they'd probably be there till at least midnight. Junpei enjoyed his nights on the town, when he had the chance, and he wasn't likely to cut it short early.

"I'm not feeling very well," Yu told them, as soon as he'd finished putting Nanako to bed. "I'm gonna get some sleep. Minako, you're welcome to stay on the couch tonight if you don't feel like going home."

Minako almost wanted to take him up on the idea, but she knew that, eventually, Shinjiro would be expecting her.

"Nah, it's fine," Yosuke assured him. "I'll take her home. Night."

Yosuke helped place the ramp that Dojima had purchased for the stairs, and both he and Minako watched as Yu disappeared into his own bedroom. "You can't really blame the guy," Yosuke muttered, with a frustrated little sigh. "That…was a lot of information to take in all at once."

"I don't think he has anything to worry about," Minako insisted. "Yu…is different. He's special. I didn't believe you about that until I'd met him for myself, but I don't think he has a dangerous, negative thought in his head. He's about as close to perfect as a person can come."

Yosuke didn't sound convinced. "Everybody has a dark side," he insisted. "You and I know that better than most people, right? Maybe we just haven't seen his yet. Doesn't mean it isn't there."

Minako knew that, of course, Yosuke was right. Hearing him being so serious for a change was a bit jarring. "Listen, Yosuke," she began, but Yosuke was too busy with his own thoughts to be paying attention.

"It's my fault, you know," he told her. "If Yu has to face some kind of horrible mind-eating monster, it's my fault. I'm the one that put him in this situation. I made the call to get rid of his persona."

"And…you saved my life," murmured Minako. "You saved both of our lives. Are you having second thoughts about that?"

She meant it as a joke, hoping to draw him out of his melancholy funk, but apparently Yosuke wasn't in a mood to play along. "Of course not," he mumbled. "Stupid question. I'd never want to hurt you. It's just..you know, maybe you were right, back in the nightmare world, when you told me that I might be making the wrong decision, splitting Yu's soul without even giving him the chance to tell me what he really wanted. What if…I don't know. What if this is worse?"

Taking a seat at the table, Minako gestured for Yosuke to sit down opposite her. When she heard him push out the chair and plop down in it, she reached across the table, and took his hand. For some reason, he started slightly when she touched him.

"It's not your fault," she told him firmly. "If anything is your fault, it's that we ended up getting a second chance. We all agreed that we were going to move forward through this, with what we have, without looking back, remember? We wouldn't be able even to try doing that, if it wasn't for what you did. I will not let you beat yourself up about this, so we're not gonna talk about it anymore, okay? What's done is done."

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke. "Yeah, okay. But you're not allowed to go crazy on me either. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. I guess it's kinda like all three of us are partners, now."

Minako smiled. "Coming from you," she said, "that's a big deal."

"Well, we've been through some big stuff," mumbled Yosuke.

A couple of hours later, Yosuke kept his word and drove Minako back home. She heard someone stand up from the table as she unlocked the door, and knew that Shinjiro was already there waiting for her.

"You're home," he said.

There were a hundred things that Minako could potentially have said. Without time to carefully consider which one was the best choice, she blurted out, "you're not drunk, are you?"

"Huh?" Shinjiro sounded surprised. Me? You know I don't do that kinda stuff. Junpei's trashed, though. He only brought me along so somebody would be there to pick his sorry ass up and drive him home."

Minako wasn't sure how to feel. She was relieved, delighted, and deeply embarrassed at the same time. O f course Shinjiro hadn't gone out drinking. It just wasn't like him. The stupid little fight that they'd had that morning wouldn't be nearly enough to turn him into a totally different person, and she'd been stupid to even think about that possibility. Maybe he wasn't even angry at her.

Part of her, the little, confused, conflicted part, honestly wished that he had been angry. She was angry at herself, and if he'd been angry too, at least they would have been on the same page. "Shinji," she began.

Shinjiro took her in his arms, and kissed her forehead. "Don't," he said. "I love you. It's late."

Together, they got undressed, washed up, and got into bed. As she lay against the pillows, listening to Shinjiro's breathing, Minako genuinely tried not to think about the things that were bothering her. She wanted to focus on Shinjiro's last words to her before he'd fallen asleep, or on the wonderful fact that he didn't even seem to care about what she'd said that morning.

Still, one thing in particular that Theodore had said wouldn't leave her alone. It wasn't the fact that there were shadows to face. She and he friends had encountered far more dangerous situations than this, and come through them alive and well. Instead, it was the idea that the strange new feelings she'd been experiencing lately did stem from her, rather than from some manipulative outside source. If all of these feelings really did just come from inside her, then what had happened with Tohru was…essentially what she really wanted, wasn't it?

That, of course, didn't make sense. She could say with complete confidence and total honesty that she loved Shinjiro, that she wanted to be with him and to fix the things that had only started to go wrong between them. After all, they hadn't even been together that long. Fights were totally normal for new couples, and there was still so much time to set things right and to be happy again.

Even as she thought all of those things, however, the image of Tohru's face, the way she imagined it, floated in and out of her head. What could that possibly mean? What was it she really wanted, and would she eve be allowed to decide or figure it out for herself, in the face of the shadow's attack?

Aware that Shinjiro had already dropped off to sleep, Minako curled up on her side, and sniffled quietly into her pillow. Maybe, she reflected glumly, even facing the Great Seal had been easier than talking down her own fickle heart.

**The next morning, at the Dojima residence…**

Yet again, Nanako had a lot to think about.

Some of the stuff that Theodore had explained, about the shadows, and about the feelings in her Big Bro's head hadn't made a lot of sense. He'd gone on and on about Minako's inner feelings, and about the shadows feeding off of the bad things in her head, and Nanako understood that Minako was probably in some trouble. She also understood that Yu, since he and Minako had basically the same sickness, was also maybe in trouble.

What she didn't understand was all that stuff about weakness. Why had Yu looked so sad and worried when Theodore had started talking about people who hadn't awakened their own persona? Was all of that supposed to mean something? Did it mean something bad would happen to Yu?

There was not much point in trying to wrap her head around that. There was, however, one thing that was very clear. Yu and Minako couldn't fight off the shadows by themselves. If no one fought the shadows, then something terrible would happen to hurt them both, and Nanako had been given this special power in order to stop that from happening. It was therefore her job to start figuring out what to do next.

With that thought filling her mind, she came up the stairs from her bedroom with a stoic look of determination planted firmly on her face. From where he was sitting watching TV on the sofa, Dojima looked up at her in surprise.

"Nanako?" he asked. "Uh, what's going on? You look…different. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," she told him. "I'm going out to play at Junes with my friends today, okay? I'll see you later!"

As she began to head for the door, Dojima's voice called out after her. "Whoa, hold on, just a minute. Which friends are you meeting? I don't think I want you going out by yourself today. There's still a dangerous man loose in our town, remember? I would feel a lot better if you'd stay home."

Nanako frowned. "Then, what if I ask Yosuke to come with me? I'll call him on the telephone."

Dojima scratched his head in bewilderment. "You want to call Hanamura?" he asked. "Why don't you wait for your cousin to wake up? I bet he'd be happy to spend the day with you today. He doesn't get out enough as it is."

Nanako, however, knew that she wasn't going to wait for Yu. She loved her Big Bro, more than she could possibly describe, but he said that he felt scared when she went into the Velvet Room, and she didn't want to make him feel scared. She didn't like the look that she saw on his face while he was watching her talking to Theodore, or to Igor. No, it would definitely be much better if he didn't know about this. Then it couldn't make him upset.

"I think he's tired today," she said. It wasn't quite a lie. Yu would probably be tired, especially after the events of the night before. Nanako didn't want to make a habit out of lying. Good girls, she knew, did not lie, especially to their fathers. "Can't I go with Yosuke? I'll be careful, I promise."

"Uh…well, I don't see a good reason why not." Dojima bit his lip "That is, if Hanamura wants to go with you. He might think it's a little strange if you just-!"

Nanako ran over to the phone and started dialing Yosuke's number. "Hello? Yosuke? This is Nanako," she said, as soon as someone picked up on the other end. "Will you come with me to Junes today? Dad says that I'm not allowed to go by myself…please?"

"Nana-chan?" The voice on the other end of the line wasn't Yosuke's. "Um, Yosuke's not home right now, he's at work. Are you going to Junes? Oooh, can I come too? We can go find Yosuke and bother him when we get there!"

"Dad?" asked Nanako. "What about Teddie? Is it okay if I go with Teddie?"

Dojima just shook his head and sighed. "Fine," he muttered. "Fine, just…just stay out of trouble. Be back by six o'clock, or I'll get worried and come after you. Okay?"

"Okay!" Nanako barely had time to smile winningly at her dad before she was bouncing at the door and down the street to the store.

Teddie was waiting for her when she got there, in his human form, but without his Junes uniform. Across the food court from them, Nanako could already see Yosuke arguing with a woman in a pink flowery apron.

"I think," began Teddie, "that maybe I forgot that I was supposed to be working today. Do you think Yosuke will be mad at me?"

"Probably," admitted Nanako.

"Hmmm…" Teddie sounded worried. "Okay, then I guess we shouldn't tell him. Come on, Nana-chan, let's get topsicles."

As Teddie dragged Nanako across the food court, carefully avoiding Yosuke as he went, Nanako tugged back against his arm. "Wait, Teddie," she insisted, "we don't have time for that right now! There's something I want to do today!"

Teddie looked disappointed. "Just…just one topsicle?" he asked. "Just one little topsicle?"

Nanako relented. Now that she thought about it, she was kind of hungry after all. "Well, all right," she said. "But only one, okay?"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Note: **Finally, more Nanako!

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement these last few days, guys, and for all the advice as to what to do and look for at Katsucon! That definitely made it easier to sort out. Again? Best readers ever. Still true!

So, let's talk about Minako's love life. You guys seemed so interested in the idea of a Minako x Yosuke pairing that I threw it a couple of moments in there for you, and now I think we can definitely say that he has a little crush on her. Still, she has so much else going on in her love life right now that I don't think we should get too attached to the idea of them being together…Yosuke does seem to have a tendency to want what he can't have. Besides, as he said in the previous chapter, they're partners too now, and that would make a romance extremely uncomfortable. It's probably better if they just stay friends. ;)

**Chapter Thirteen**

Nanako soon discovered that dragging Teddie away from topsicles was a lot harder than she'd originally thought. He ended up managing to eat four of them before she finally begged and cajoled him into helping her find Yosuke, who by this time was already on his break.

"Huh?" asked Yosuke, when they finally tracked him down. "Nanako-chan? You want me to do what?"

"Please," pleaded Nanako. "I want to go in and see the doors again."

Nanako could see the word "no" forming on Yosuke's lips before she'd even finished he sentence. She'd expected that to happen, of course. What she didn't expect was for Teddie to suddenly speak up in her defense.

"Aw, please, Yosuke, pretty please?" Teddie did his best to sparkle winningly at Yosuke, who glared at him. "I want to see too! We've never looked inside sensei's door. Let's go check it out. Nana-chan will be safe with us."

Yosuke still clearly didn't want to go along with it, and his frustrated frown told Nanako that he was having a little bit of trouble making up his mind about what the right decision was. She waited patiently while several complex and conflicting feelings made their way of Yosuke's face.

Finally, he sighed. In very much the same way that her dad had done, when he'd finally given in and let her go to Junes with Teddie, Yosuke said "Fine. Okay! I want to know what's inside the doors too. Of course I do. But I'm in charge here, got it? Both of you need to do exactly what I tell you. No going off on your own, and if I say run, then we run. Okay?"

"Okay!" agreed Nanako, beaming at him.

"Oh, Yosuke," babbled Teddie. "You're such a nice guy…"

Shaking his head, Yosuke held up a hand to forestall any more flattery. "Wait," he insisted. "We're not going alone. Not just the three of us. Nanako-chan, we're going to have to bring someone else. Who do you want me to call?"

Nanako blinked. "Um…you want me to decide?" If Yosuke was in charge, she reasoned, wasn't that up to him? "Um, okay…well, uh…how about Yukiko? She's always so friendly, I don't think she'd mind if we asked her."

"But, Nana-chan," Teddie reminded her. "Yukiko has a fire persona, just like you. I can do healing, too, so maybe we need someone who can do the things that we can't do."

"Oh…" Frowning, Nanako tried again. "Okay, um, how about Kanji? He's really strong!"

This time, it was Yosuke who shook his head. "Kanji's pretty impressive, yeah," he agreed, "but it might be better to bring somebody who is strong against the stuff that you're weak against."

"I…don't understand," admitted Nanako. "I'm not weak. Actually, Dad says that I'm pretty strong for my age. I can even help Big Bro carry in all of the grocery bags. I can carry three bags at the same time!"

Nanako had honestly thought that her grocery carrying skills were something to be proud of, but Yosuke still didn't look convinced. "Your persona, Icarus," he began, "uses fire spells, right? At least…I think it does. We've only seen fire spells from Icarus, anyway."

Nanako nodded. "Yeah, it was fire," she agreed.

"So," continued Yosuke, "you're probably gonna be weak to something like…maybe ice. If you're gonna go into the TV world with us, then we need to bring someone who is strong against, or better yet, immune to ice."

"This is hard…" mumbled Nanako. She didn't remember which of her friends were 'strong' or' weak.' They'd all seemed strong to her. She really hadn't seen them fight the shadow things very often, although she had been there when they'd rescued her from Namatame-san. "Um…can I have a hint?" she asked.

Teddie wagged a finger at Yosuke. "You're making this too hard," he admonished. "No fair. Nana-chan, Chie-chan can do ice attacks, and usually, ice attacks don't hit her. Let's call her! I bet she'd love to come and hang out with us!"

"This…isn't really 'hanging out,'" muttered Yosuke, but Teddie was already on the phone.

**Meanwhile, at the police station…**

Dojima came in late, which was unusual. Minako was already sitting patiently at her desk, in the midst of a grueling phone call with an overzealous, elderly Inaba resident when she finally heard him stalk into the room.

"Good morning, Dojima-san," she said dutifully, as soon as she'd finally managed to hang up the phone.

"Arisato," barked Dojima, apparently disinterested in small talk, "call out an alert. Adachi's been spotted at the shopping district. I want two extra units patrolling the area around the Old Shiroku's store, and four extra units at the Junes food court."

Minako was surprised. "Four, sir?" she asked. "Can we really spare four extra units for that one little spot?"

Minako knew that Dojima was glaring at her. She could almost feel the baleful energy beating down on her face in the pause that followed. "I never said 'ask stupid questions,' did I? Just do it."

Minako, very quickly and without any further interjections, did exactly as she was told. Once all of the appropriate calls had been made, and the police officers were on their way, she hazarded to ask, "Did we get a tip? "

"Yeah," growled Dojima. "Daidara thinks he saw him hanging around Shiroku's store sometime last night. He had some kinda weird heavy coat on, but Daidara's sure it was him. That old man's not bad with faces, and he sees a lot of people, so if he says it was Adachi, then he's probably right. Maybe an hour after that, someone else called to say that they thought Adachi might have been buying something at Junes. He's definitely starting to show himself. I guess a guy can't go without eating forever…" After a moment, in a slightly lower tone, he mumbled, "Nanako's at the food court right now with some of your friends."

Oh, thought Minako. Well, that certainly explained the extra firepower that Dojima wanted around the food court. "Do you want me to go over to the food court to check up on things?" she asked.

"No," Dojima told her. "No, I'm going over there right now, and I need you to stay here. There's work to be done."

Minako was surprised and gratified. "Yes sir," she said, trying not to let an inappropriately enthusiastic smile creep on to her face. "What would you like me to do?"

"Here," said Dojima. "I made you a list." Minako heard a piece of paper crinkle on the desktop, and frowned. She didn't enjoy having these kinds of conversations.

"Um, I'm sorry, sir," she began, "but…"

"Huh? Oh." Dojima sighed. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. Have one of the guys read it to you."

As his footsteps headed doggedly away, Minako heard Dojima call back over his shoulder, "Oh, and Arisato, you should leave early tonight. Start heading home before it gets dark outside, when there are still lots of people around. I expect to see you here in the morning, still in one piece. Understood?"

"Understood," affirmed Minako, picking up the paper with a growing feeling of purpose and determined glee. Now, if only she could find someone who wasn't too busy to help her work out what it was that Dojima actually wanted her to accomplish…

**Meanwhile, inside the TV…**

Nanako, Teddie, Yosuke, Chie, and now Rise stood in front of the door to Minako's nightmares, accompanied by Margaret. At the last minute, Yosuke had insisted on calling Rise, who had rushed over, slightly out of breath and none too pleased that she'd been summoned at such short notice.

"Okay," Yosuke was saying, as the team ventured carefully through the nightmare door together. "Remember, stay cautious. If we see anything in there that we don't think we're ready to handle, we get out. Nanako, don't do anything without asking me first."

"Yeah, I know…" Nanako was starting to get a little annoyed with the way Yosuke was ordering her around. Sure, he meant well, of course, but she wasn't a little kid any more, and besides, Igor and Theodore had told that she had one of the strongest powers that they had ever seen. That really should have counted for something.

Margaret opened the door, and the team walked inside. "Oh crap," muttered Yosuke. "Not again…"

This time, Nanako recognized what it was that was standing and scratching violently at the Izanagi-No-Okami door to her Big Bro's psyche. It was a shadow, and from where Nanako was standing, it really didn't look all that scary. This shadow was pink, or rather, Nanako corrected herself, a sort of pinkish fuschia color, with four long, tentacle-like arms, and large, unblinking eyes.

"It's a squid," she told them, matter-of-factly. "Sort of."

"Hmm…actually, it does kinda look like a squid," agreed Chie. "Aw, now I'm getting hungry again…"

Rise frowned. "What do you think it means?" she asked. "I mean, what would happen if there was a squid inside Yu-senpai's head? I guess a squid is squishy, like a brain…"

Yosuke had already drawn his persona card, and Takehaya Susano-O was out and ready to go. "This doesn't look so bad," he said. "You ready?"

Nanako looked on in amazement as Yosuke's persona released a wind attack that spun the squid shadow around towards him. The squid shadow raised a tentacle, and began careening forward towards Yosuke, but Chie kicked it hard in its face, and the shadow reared back for a moment.

"Yeah," said Chie, "piece of cake!"

The shadow, however, wasn't down for long. Again, the tentacle shot out, and this time it connected, wrapping around Yosuke's legs and bringing him down hard on to the ground.

"Hey!" Nanako felt herself getting angry. "Hey, you stupid squid thing! Leave Yosuke alone!"

She, too, drew her persona card, and Icarus shot out of her to stand in front of her, flexing his wings uncertainly back and forth. The look on his face was so puzzled and piteous that Nanako reached out and put a hand on his bare shoulder. "You can do it!" she promised him. "It's all right, I'm right behind you!"

Icarus nodded once, and then a jet of flame came bursting out of him, taking the squid shadow directly in the center of what Nanako assumed was its stomach. Another blast of wind from Yosuke finally dissolved the thing into a mist of red and black.

"Phew," said Yosuke. "Okay, so not quite as easy as I thought, but still not bad. Everyone okay?"

"Fine," grumbled Chie. "Guess maybe I should be training more often. That kick should have been a real killer!"

Nanako was aware of something glimmering just out of the corner of her vision, and she glanced down to see a persona card lying in front of her on the floor. Picking it up carefully, she saw that it contained the picture of what appeared to be an angel on the front. When Nanako read the word printed on the card, it said, predictably, "angel." She put the card into her jumper pocket. Igor would probably know what to do with that. She would be sure to ask him about it later.

"Hey, Nana-chan!" Teddie was grinning all over his face with bright-eyed enthusiasm. "That was awesome! You really pounded that shadow! Gooo Nana-chan!"

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, with grudging admiration. "That…was pretty cool. You're more powerful than I expected, huh? I guess even someone your size can really drive a shadow into the ground, with the right persona."

Nanako frowned. What were they talking about? Pounding a shadow, driving it into the ground...all she'd done was to make sure that thing didn't hurt Yosuke anymore. Where had it gone when it had disappeared like that?

"Um…" she asked nervously. "Thank you, I think…do you think that…that maybe I hurt it?"

Yosuke, Teddie, and Chie all stood there, staring at her for a moment. Finally, Yosuke opened his mouth, closed it again, and then opened it once more to ask, "Wait…what?"


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Note: **Uh oh, this was actually supposed to be a double update day, but I fell asleep while I was reading my books for class…my computer made one of those little "ping" noises when I got an email, and that woke me up. Now I can post the next chapter and go back to my work…

I think it was actually **NightFlowerLuv** who wrote the review that caused the email that woke me up. Thank you! Phew.

I'm performing Tuesday night through Sunday night. There will be a few updates, but I will probably have to skip a couple of days, depending on how things work out, so I figure I'll do as much transcribing of my notes now as possible…

And now, for a bit of harmless fun.

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Do you think," repeated Nanako carefully, "that I hurt it?"

Yosuke and Chie stared at each other for a moment. Neither of them seemed to have any idea how to answer that question, which was strange to Nanako, since she was sure that it had been a very simple, straightforward thing to ask.

Again, it was Teddie who broke the silence. "No," he said, with uncharacteristic seriousness of manner. "It's okay, Nana-chan. You didn't hurt it. Shadows can't feel pain. Shadows don't feel any of the things that humans like you can feel."

"Well, most shadows, anyway," muttered Yosuke. Nanako didn't understand what that meant.

She did, however, feel a little bit relieved. "Oh," she said. "That's good. I don't…I don't like to hurt things. When I saw it hurting Yosuke, I just…I got upset, I guess, and then Icarus threw the fire. Was that…the right thing?" Belatedly, Nanako became aware that she hadn't kept her promise to Yosuke. She hadn't waited for his permission. "Um, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," insisted Rise. "Nanako, it's always the right thing to protect the people you love."

That, at least, made sense. Nanako had always cared very much for all of her Big Bro's friends, who had played with her and helped her through some very difficult times, even rescuing her from danger and then sitting up with her in the hospital while she recovered from that horrible illness more than a year ago. Rise was right. She would do anything she could to make sure that nothing hurt them or made them sad. "Okay," she agreed. "Yeah. I understand."

Yosuke walked forward, passing the place where they'd defeated the shadow, to stand in front of the door to Yu's mind. "In that case," he said, "I think it's time to take a look inside here. Here's hoping for the best…"

Nanako noted with some pride that this time, Yosuke didn't tell her to stand back, or ask any of the others to look after her. Instead, very slowly, with one hand still clutching his persona card, he reached out and pushed open the big door.

"Oh," said Chie, as the door fell backward to reveal an empty chamber inside. "Well, hey, that's a good thing, right?"

Yosuke frowned. "I think so," he said. "I mean…yeah, it's definitely good. But…"

"But what?" asked Teddie. "Sensei's safe now, right? There's nothing in here to bother him."

"I just get the feeling," muttered Yosuke, "that maybe this is the calm before the storm, you know? I mean, what if that squid thing had gotten in? What do you think it was going to do to him?"

With their mission complete, all five members of the team walked back into the Velvet Room, where Igor and the three assistants were seated, waiting for them.

"Well, crisis averted!" announced Yosuke. "I guess we'll just, uh, be going now."

Aware that four pairs of eyes were on her back, Nanako followed him and the others out of the room.

As Yosuke, Rise, and Chie stepped out of the TV, however, and Nanako prepared to join them, Teddie stopped her. "Nana-chan," he asked, still in that unexpectedly serious tone. "Why did you ask about hurting the shadows? Aren't they just monsters to you? Don't they make you scared?"

Nanako made sure to think carefully about that for a moment. If Teddie was really serious about it, then it probably deserved some serious thought. Finally, she said, "Yes, I am scared of them, but…I don't believe in monsters. Monsters aren't real. If something can feel pain, then it's not a monster, it's an animal, or a person, and animals and people can't be monsters." Realizing exactly what she had just said, she frowned, and added, "Well, that didn't make sense…"

Teddie gave her one of his effusive, spontaneous hugs. "Yes it did," was all he said. "Look, look, I made something for you. I worked really hard on these, to make sure that you would like them. Close your eyes!"

Dutifully, Nanako closed her eyes.

"Now," instructed Teddie, "hold out your hands…"

Nanako held out her hands, and something small and delicate was placed gently into them. With her fingers still open, Nanako opened her eyes, and looked down to see that she was now holding a pair of tiny silver glasses, with rims that sparkled very slightly when she turned them over in her hands.

Teddie looked nervous. "Do you…do you like them?" he asked. "Go on, put them n, I want to see."

"I love them," answered Nanako. "Thank you, Teddie." Placing the glasses on her nose, she squinted and peered around until they were settled a little more comfortably on her face. "How do I look?" she asked.

Teddie beamed and glittered at her. "You look just like one of us," he announced. Nanako smiled with real pride and delight.

**Several hours later, at the police station…**

Minako, determined not to shake Dojima's confidence in her, did exactly as she had promised, and left work a little earlier than usual in order to head home before it got dark out. Her plan had honestly been to go straight home to Shinjiro, and she was making her way along the streets of the shopping district when someone bounced out in front of her and put a delicate hand on her shoulder.

"Surprise!" said Rise. "This is an ambush!"

Minako wasn't sure what to say to that. "An..ambush?" she asked. "You mean, like a robbery? Rise, have you been spending too much time in Okina, again? I can spare you five dollars, if you need, but, really, try to stay out of that Croco store. It's kinda becoming an addiction."

"No, not that kind of ambush," laughed Yukiko, from somewhere to Minako's left. "Maybe we should have called it an 'intervention.'"

"Yeah!" announced Chie, coming up on the right. "You spend too much time working, or at home. It's the middle of summer! It's time for you to go out and have a little fun!"

Minako's heart, which had started pounding a little too fast when Rise had suddenly jumped out in front of her, had now begun to slow to its normal pace. "I'm sorry," she began. "Honestly, I'd love to come and hang out with you, but I promised Shinji that I'd go straight home tonight. He really will be upset if I break my promise again."

"Nope!" said Rise triumphantly. "We've already called Shinjiro-san, and he knows about the plan! We are not taking no for an answer, Minako! You're coming with us."

Minako apparently had no choice but to follow behind Rise, who was leading the way while Yukiko held on to one of Minako's arms, and Chie held on to the other. "Where are we going?" she asked, giving up. "I'm not really dressed to go out partying…I've still got my work clothes on."

"Oh, don't worry," Yukiko assured her. "We'll take care of that!"

The girls dragged Minako across town, and eventually on to a train, which she could feel moving beneath her feet as the station announcements echoed overhead. Only when the train had set off for Okina City did Yukiko and Chie finally release Minako and allow her to take her own seat.

"We're going shopping!" announced Rise. "There's a sale at Croco Fur this week, and I don't think you've ever been out shopping with us before. I want to know what kind of things you like to wear when you're not working. We're ready to see the real Minako!"

I am, thought Minako, the real Minako. The real Minako is tired and would really like to go home. Still, she was flattered by the girls' insistence and attention. It was true that it had been a very long time since she'd gone out just to have a good time. If Junpei and Shinjiro could do it, then why couldn't she? "All right," she said. "It sounds like fun. But I warn you, I don't have a ton of money to spare. We may just have to go for accessories."

They got off the train at Okina, and went immediately to Rise's favorite clothing store, a store that, Minako had been told, now had photographs of Rise in her favorite Croco Fur outfits plastered all over its walls and advertisements. Minako, who really had no experience or idea how to pick out such fancy things, allowed Yukiko, Chie, and Rise to go through the shelves, picking out shirts and skirts that they thought would look good on her.

"How about this?" asked Chie, pressing something soft and flimsy in Minako's hands. "I think this color would look super cute on you."

Minako smiled, guessing to herself that the outfit was probably green. "What color is it?" she asked.

"It's…kind of a sea green. Or maybe it's a pea green," said Rise, with a frown in her voice. "Honestly, I think you'd look better in reds and pinks. You have such pretty rosy cheeks, we should try to bring them out more!"

"What do you think Shinjiro-san would like?" asked Yukiko.

The other girls made the appropriate appreciative noises. "Good point," agreed Rise. "Yeah, Minako, what kind of clothes does Shinjiro-san like you to wear?"

The very first thought that popped into Minako's head was that Shinjiro, obviously, didn't care what she wore. The second thought, and one that she hoped desperately didn't show on her face, was that Shinjiro showed the most genuine appreciate of her appearance when she wore no clothes at all.

"Ooh, you're blushing!" Rise was delighted. Minako silently cursed herself for not being able to control her expressions better. "You know, I'm not surprised," continued Rise. "I thought it might be something like that. Shinjiro-san seems so scary sometimes, but I bet he's a really passionate person. The quiet ones usually are, right?"

"Passionate?" Yukiko seemed to be having some trouble with that. "What do you mean, 'passionate?'"

Rise laughed. "Oh, never mind, Yukiko." She gave Minako a little jab in the ribs with one perfectly sculpted elbow. "Minako-chan knows what I mean, right?"

Minako was sure that her face was only getting redder under the other girls' scrutiny and merriment. Trying desperately to change the subject, she blurted out, "You've never told me what kind of guy you like, Rise. Are you into the quiet guys, too?"

It wasn't exactly a full topic change, but nevertheless it seemed to do the trick. Rise and Yukiko suddenly went quiet, and Minako heard Chie let out a little, long-suffering sigh.

"It's…kind of a touchy subject," Chie explained. "Rise and Yukiko…have very similar taste in guys."

"I don't know what you're talking about," insisted Yukiko, way more loudly than she probably needed to. "You say the silliest things sometimes, Chie. Rise and I are totally different people, and we couldn't possibly like the same guy."

Realization suddenly dawned on Minako. "Oh," she murmured. "Oh, you're talking about Yu…"

There was another awkward moment. Then, as brightly as she could, Yukiko spoke up again into the silence. "Actually," she began, "now that you mention it, Rise was telling us the other day about another guy that she'd been starting to think about, weren't you, Rise-chan?" Was Minako imagining things, or was there just a little bit of malice in Yukiko's normally friendly voice?

"Uh…no, I wasn't," countered Rise, unconvincingly. "There aren't any guys around here that are really my type."

"Oh, really? Yukiko wasn't giving up that easily. "Are you sure? I really thought I heard you asking over lunch the other day if Yosuke knew whether or not Junpei was seeing anybody..."

Minako opened her mouth in surprise. "Junpei?" she asked. "Really, Rise?"

Rise's lack of response was all the response what Minako needed.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Author's Note: **So, as I was just PMing to the wonderful **Meia42**, this story is…huge. There is so much plot in this story that I have had to get myself a special bag designed only to carry the notebooks and outlines that I've been writing about this story. I think, for that reason, that it is very likely that this will eventually evolve into a trilogy, with **What Cannot Be Broken** being the first, **Bondswoman** being the second, and the addition of an eventual, mysterious third fic. Now, mind you, the plot is staying the same, I haven't added, changed, or prolonged anything. It just looks like it might be easier to tell all of the story and plot that I want to tell with more than one fic. Besides, there's something very neat and tidy about trilogies. But I digress.

*drumroll please* Presenting the return of Tohru Adachi!

…maybe if I kill him off in chapter sixteen, I won't have to edit his dialogue anymore…yeah, let's go ahead and do that.

**Chapter Fifteen**

"What?" Rise sounded a little defensive. "I mean…is there something wrong with me liking Junpei?"

Minako shook her head. "No," she assured her, "There isn't. It's just that I've known him such a long time, so it's hard for me to-!"

"Oh, come on! You've got your own guy right now." Rise's voice was rising slightly, and Minako began to wonder if maybe she'd ventured into something that she didn't want a part of after all. "Besides, not only are you dating Shinjiro-san, but even Yosuke has a little bit of a-!

"Hey, Rise!" Chie cut her off. "Come on, you don't need to tell her that."

Rise took a deep breath. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Anyway. It's not like you don't have enough men for yourself, right?"

Very gently, making sure to keep her tone as neutral and friendly as she could, Minako strayed farther into unfamiliar territory. "You totally misunderstood me," she insisted. "Rise, I'm not interested in Junpei. Junpei's like my stupid big brother. It's just really hard for me to imagine someone seeing him…like a man, you know?" She pointedly did not mention that the only person she thought he'd ever dated was Chidori, whom he'd been so head over heels in love with that she'd been sure it would never end. Somehow, Minako was certain that Rise didn't need to hear about that right now. If things progressed, and Rise got her way, Junpei would tell her about it eventually. "He's a great guy," she continued. "I mean, he'd treat you really well."

"Oh. I'm…I'm sorry," muttered Rise sheepishly. "I got carried away. These two have been teasing me about it so much, and I don't even want to tell you about what Yosuke said when I asked if Junpei was single. Everybody thinks he is, but…um, I don't know how to make him notice me. Normally, it isn't so hard…"

Minako stifled a laugh, remembering the incident at the Christmas party the year before. "Trust me," she assured Rise, "he notices you. He's been noticing you for a while. Junpei's dense. You may have to make the first move."

"Then, how about a double date?" Yukiko jumped eagerly back into the conversation. "Minako, you bring Shinjiro, and then Rise can ask Junpei. That would make it so much less awkward!"

"That," Chie assured her, "would probably make it so much more awkward. I don't think I've heard Shinjiro-san say more than six words to anyone, ever. Not even to you, Minako."

That, thought Minako, was true, at least. Shinjiro wasn't much for small talk, and bringing him on a double date with Junpei and the effusive Rise would probably be akin to torturing him. Although she knew he'd go along if she asked him, Minako couldn't imagine herself actually doing it. It would just be too cruel.

"Will you talk to him for me?" asked Rise. "I mean…you know, will you ask him what he thinks about me?" Minako heard the wheedling, slightly pleading note in her voice, and was forcibly reminded of her own high school days, when she had contemplated asking Mitsuru if the older girl would consider sounding out Akihiko on whether or not he liked her.

"Of course I will," she promised. Not, she thought, that she really needed to. Junpei would definitely be interested in the idea of a popular teenage idol having a crush on him.

Minako spent a few minutes trying on clothes at the girls' request, and eventually took their suggestions, and made a few purchases that they assured her were in excellent taste. Chie, Yukiko, and Rise also tried on clothes, and the four girls walked out of the store fully laden with boxes and bags.

"Hmm," murmured Rise thoughtfully. "How is Junpei at fetching and carrying? He looks pretty strong, and he's good in a fight, but what I really need is someone to help me shop…"

Yukiko laughed. "Love is hard," she sighed, only partially joking."You're lucky that you've already got it all worked out, Minako."

The slight twinge of discomfort that had been making its way through Minako's stomach ever since the conversation had begun finally reared its ugly head, and flared up into full-fledged chagrin. Until recently, she would probably have agreed with Yukiko that, yes, she did have it all worked out. Now, though…

"Hey, guys?" she asked, on a whim. "What would you say if I told you that I had…started having feelings for someone else?"

There was a pause. The other three girls stopped walking, and Minako stopped as well, afraid of losing them or leaving them behind.

"Someone else?" asked Chie. "Who else?"

Minako couldn't' decide if she was glad or sorry that she'd spoken up. The deafening silence of Yukiko and Rise was a little bit disturbing. "It's nobody you know," she assured them, hoping that didn't make it worse. "I met someone at the shopping district. He's older."

Unexpectedly, Yukiko laughed, and Rise blew out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness," murmured Yukiko around a giggle. "I was afraid you were going to say that it was Yosuke."

Surprised, Minako asked, "You're…not mad at me?"

"Who, us?" Rise snorted. "Are you kidding? Minako, I know your life's been really hard, but you're seventeen! You're still young! I don't think you should have to be stuck to just one person. You and I, we still have tons of life to experience. There's no way we can make those kind of 'forever' decisions right now."

Yukiko, sounding slightly less sure of herself, remarked, "I don't' know, Rise…Shinjiro-san really loves her. Maybe it is possible to find someone to spend your life with, even if we are just out of high school. If I had something like that, I wouldn't want to give it up."

Chie groaned. "Ugh, come on, guys, enough talking about this! There just aren't enough interesting men around, Inaba is so small. Maybe we'll meet someone in college. If not," she added gloomily, "My aunt Hirami says that cats can be great companions. I think she has seven of them…"

Even Minako protested that statement. Maybe she was having trouble sorting things out in her head right now, but spending the rest of her life alone with seven cats was absolutely not part of any plan she could come up with.

The girls rode the train home together, and, waving and calling enthusiastic farewells, eventually went their separate ways. Minako, holding two heavy bags of mysterious clothing purchases, made her way through the shopping district, thinking carefully about the things that Yukiko and Rise had said. It wasn't that they'd given her very good advice. In fact, Yukiko and Rise had both said totally different things about her problem, leaving her, essentially, right back in the middle where she'd started. Still, all of this talk had provided her with some food for thought. Yukiko and Rise had, essentially, both been right. She was young. It was her time to experiment and figure things out. Still, what if Shinjiro really did end up being the one?

The bags seemed to be getting heavier the farther she walked, and Minako began to wonder if she might be able to consolidate them, to make them easier to carry. Placing one on the ground beside her, she knelt down to rearrange her things.

"Not there, dumbass," muttered Tohru. The bag was picked up and pushed back into her hands. "That's not even on the sidewalk anymore. Jeez, I thought blind people were supposed to be better at this. Don't you have crazy ninja senses or something? How come you can't tell where the street is?"

Minako's heart stopped, then started, then skipped another beat. "Are you following me?" she demanded.

"Heh," Tohru sounded amused. "I have to ask; how do you want me to answer that?"

Good question, thought Minako. "I want you to say no," she told him.

"Now you're lying," Tohru accused her. "It's not cute when you lie like that."

Minako wanted to tell him that she didn't care if he thought she was cute or not, but knew that, again, it would be a lie if she did. Instead, rather than engage with him, she collected her bags, stood up, and started walking off as quickly as she could. The sooner she got away from him, the sooner she could get home, unpack her bags, and stop thinking about him. He'd made it clear to her that he was bad news, and it was time for her to start listening to the rational part of her brain, and believe him.

"Wait," called Tohru, and the tinge of amusement had left his voice. Minako stopped in her tracks before she'd consciously figured out what to tell her feet. Damn, she thought.

"Hey, listen," he said, taking a few steps to catch up with her. "Blind girl, I need to ask you something."

"Then stop pretending you don't remember my name," she countered.

Tohru said nothing for a moment, and then, in a lower voice, he muttered, "M-Minako."

Minako tried not to let the chill run down her spine as he said it. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I…uh…" Now, for some reason, Tohru seemed to be having trouble getting the words out. Make up your mind, thought Minako. "Why'd you kiss me?" he asked finally, spitting the question out all in one go. "Why would you do something stupid like that, anyway? I don't get it. After everything I told you, you still…are you really just an idiot? Is that all?"

Something about the way he phrased it caught Minako's attention. She would have believed that he was taunting her with the question, trying to embarrass her or rile her up, except for the way he'd finished the sentence. It was the word "all" that gave him away, as well as the vaguely, barely audible note of hopefulness that had crept, almost unnoticed, into that final word.

"No," she said simply. "I'm not an idiot." It was because I wanted to kiss you, she wanted to say. It was because I heard the pain in your voice, and I, like so many crazy, poorly guided women, am drawn to sufferers and people who need my help. I'm drawn to you. It's because there's something about you. I did it because…

"I don't know why," she told him, and it was an honest answer. "Can I go now?"

"Everything you see," said Tohru. "It's all just pictures in your head, right? You make it up. So what do I look like now, huh? Now that you know I really am a freak who takes advantage of teenage girls. What does a monster look like to a blind girl?" There was a hard-edge to his joking tone now that made it sound as though he was steeling himself for a blow.

Minako shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I've still never seen one. I"m pretty sure they don't wear ties, though."

A brief moment of silence went by before Tohru laughed. It was a quiet, desperate laugh, with a hint of the same nervousness that she remembered from the time she'd met him on the riverbank. "I want to be that guy," he muttered. "I want to be the person you keep pretending I am. I think you're going to drive me insane...unless I'm insane already. I don't know..."

Oh, good, thought Minako. That makes two of us.

She knew that now, she could walk away. Turning around, she headed for home, calling over her shoulder as she went, "You can start by buying me that ice cream that you owe me. Oh, and quit following me. Creepy, scary people lurk on street corners. Normal people don't. Maybe that's where you should start. If you want to talk to me, then ask me out like a normal person."

Tohru laughed again, and said teasingly, "Okay. You asked for it. Maybe I will," giving Minako a little thrill that made her all the more aware of the fact that she shouldn't be here.

Feeling slightly proud of herself for breaking away, she started back along the path to her house, wondering in the back of her mind if he would take her up on that offer.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Note: **I wish locking this guy up meant that I didn't have to write his dialogue anymore, but no. Oh, no. No, this will, in fact, only make the situation worse.

Well, at least in the next couple of chapters we'll have Nanako and Minako in the same place, so there will be no split scenes or POV changes. That's a help, right?

**Chapter Sixteen**

The next day was Saturday, and Minako took the opportunity to sleep late. She woke up long after she normally would have, tucked into Shinjiro's arms, listening to him trying not to snore. When she shifted position, some of his unruly hair drifted into her face, tickling her. As carefully as she could, aware that Shinjiro, too, could probably use a morning to sleep in, Minako snuck out of the bed, and wandered into the kitchen.

It was and had always been an unspoken rule that the kitchen was Shinjiro's realm, a place where Minako did not interfere without express permission. Normally, Minako didn't mind at all, aware that of the two of them, Shinjiro was the much more talented chef. This morning, however, Minako wanted to give cooking a try. Shinjiro got up early and made breakfast for her every morning, and this morning she was hoping she might have a chance to do something nice for him.

Just as she was in the process of pulling over a chair, to try and reach the place where she thought Shinjiro still kept the flour, the pain in her head began again, and Minako had to jump down quickly from the chair to prevent herself from falling over in the throes of the horrible headache. She sat on the ground for a few minutes, holding her head, until the ache began to recede again, and she was at least able to stand back up.

Taking a deep breath, Minako started to get back up on to the chair, and then stopped. Honestly, she told herself, this was probably a waste of her time. If Shinjiro had really wanted her messing around in his kitchen, wouldn't he have put the ingredients on shelves that she could actually reach? If she fell of the chair or began knocking things around while she tried to make breakfast, he'd probably end up getting angry at her for messing up his system. No doubt he'd find the opportunity to explain to her that she, being disadvantaged and incapable, should have asked him for help. If she tried to explain to him that she'd wanted to surprise him, he'd kiss her, shrug it off, and explain that she didn't need to surprise him. All she had to do was sit around and be waited on, of course, just like she did every other morning.

Having completely lost interest in making breakfast, Minako returned quietly to her bedroom, and got dressed in silence instead. She poured herself some cereal, ate it as quickly as she could, and then set out for the shopping district without any real plan. Junpei, she knew, would be working today. She might be able to go and visit him at Daidara's. It had been a while since she'd been to the old man's art gallery. Maybe she didn't need weapons anymore, but there were still some pretty pieces on display there, and Junpei was usually glad of any distraction.

She had just begun heading in that direction when she overheard a couple of women's voices talking excitedly somewhere to her left.

"I'm so glad," one of them was saying, "that they finally caught him. I've been having trouble sleeping at night, worrying about some strange man breaking in through my window!"

"Wouldn't that be a nice change?" asked the other voice, with more than a hint of malice in it. "It's been years since you've had a man over, as far as I know."

Minako didn't really listen to the first woman's indignant rebuttal. She was still caught up on what they had been talking about. There was only one person whom she knew of that anyone would talk about like that. Could it be true? Had they really caught Adachi?

"Excuse me," she asked, striding over in the direction of the voices. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but did I hear you say that they finally caught the murderer?"

"Oh, yes, dear," said the second woman. "I saw on the news that they picked him up in the middle of the night last night. I, for one, am proud of our hardworking police force. It's good to know that we can rely on them to safeguard us here in Inaba."

Minako thanked the women, and changed course immediately, deciding to go over to Junes instead of stopping at Daidara's. Yosuke would be thrilled to hear about Adachi's capture. Just in case he hadn't heard yet, Minako wanted to be the one to tell him the good news.

It wasn't until she'd already passed the entrance to the flood plain that she considered going to have a look. Last night she hadn't exchanged more than twenty words with Tohru, and although she was still proud of herself for blowing him off so effectively, she was more than a little eager to see what he'd made of her implied invitation. She wouldn't she promised herself, have too much to do with him. She wouldn't let him drag her into a confusing moment, like he had so many times before. She just wanted to go and talk to him. Maybe he too would be interested in hearing that Adachi had finally been captured.

As far as she could tell when she arrived on the flood plain, however, there was no one there. Minako, who had half expected Tohru to be there waiting for her, spent a moment reminding herself that she shouldn't expect random men to get up early in the morning and to stand around waiting for her in a place where they hadn't even agreed to meet. It was very self-centered of her, in fact, to assume that he'd have done just that. Minako silently reminded herself not to let his attentions give her too big of an ego boost.

Just as she was about to turn around and start back towards Junes, her foot squelched down into a puddle of liquid mess on the ground, and then crunched and broke something that felt almost like cardboard. Leaning down, she gingerly brushed at the cardboard thing with two fingers, and discovered that it was the remains of a dropped ice cream cone. She reached around a bit more, and found that, not more than a foot away from the ice cream, a crushed bouquet of flowers was lying on the ground.

More aware than most of her legal duties, probably due to Dojima's constant harping on the subject, Minako carefully picked up and disposed of the flowers and the cone, leaving the spatter of ice cream where it lay. It seemed as though someone's date had gone awry, resulting in some abandoned litter. That thought reminded Minako of the conversation that she'd had with Rise the night before, and the fact that Rise had asked her to sound out Junpei about it, which left Minako now uncertain where she wanted to go next. Should she chase Yosuke down, even though he'd probably already heard the news from the Junes patrons, or should she instead go and embarrass Junpei in front of his employer with Rise's latest confession?

Luckily for Minako, she never actually had to make the decision. As she was walking back up from the flood plain, a set of running footsteps came to a stop right in front of her, and a male voice announced, "Arisato-san! We've caught him, we've finally caught Adachi! You've gotta come to the station right away, Dojima-san's going to want your help."

It was one of the other policemen from the station, and Minako hurried to oblige him, following along as he led her quickly through the streets towards her workplace. "We got him real early this morning," the policeman was telling her eagerly, taking her by the arm to help her navigate through the people, cats, and dogs that were populating the streets on this Saturday morning. "We figured he'd be doing a better job of hiding out, but he was standing around in plain sight down on the flood plain. Cocky bastard apparently figured nobody could catch him, so he didn't even have to be careful…"

They arrived at the station, and Minako hurried inside, expecting to hear Dojima barking boisterous orders at anyone and everyone. She was positive he'd be delighted and triumphant about the soon-to-be celebrated capture of Adachi.

For some reason, however, the station was very quiet, and Dojima didn't seem to be in evidence at all. When she asked one of the security guards where she might find him, the guard led her over towards the holding cell where drunks and rowdy partygoers were sometimes kept overnight.

"Arisato," mumbled Dojima distractedly. "Glad you're here. Sorry to drag you in on a Saturday."

"Its fine, sir," insisted Minako, shaking her head. "I hear you've finally caught the murderer! So, I assume that you'll want me to-!"

Someone sucked in a short, surprised breath, and then Minako heard a low, dark, familiar laugh coming from the area of the holding cells. "No way," muttered Tohru. "This is…this is too perfect. You're a policewoman? Jeez, I had no idea. I was playing an even more dangerous game than I thought."

"Tohru?" asked Minako. "Is that you? What are you doing-?"

Then, suddenly, in a wave of realization that had probably been a long time in coming, Minako understood. She thought back about all the comments that he'd made about being a monster, about the fact that she never seemed to meet him during daylight hours, and about the strange, muffled voice she'd heard when they'd first met outside Shiroku pub. The penny dropped, the pieces fit together, and the mystery was belatedly solved.

"No," she murmured, as the bottom dropped slowly and sickeningly out of her world. "No, that's not…you're not…"

"Heh, surprise," muttered Tohru Adachi.

**Meanwhile, at the Dojima residence…**

"Is it true?" asked Nanako, when Yu finally came down the stairs to the breakfast table. "Did they really find Adachi-san?" Dad had been gone when she'd woken up that morning, and when she'd turned on the TV, his triumphant capture of the Inaba murderer had been all over the news.

"I think so." Yu looked exhausted, and there were creases under his eyes that looked to Nanako like a lack of sleep.

"Oh," she said. "What's wrong? You look awful." Correcting herself quickly, she added, "No, I mean, you look really tired. Did you have trouble sleeping? Do you want some coffee?"

Yu took a seat at the table, rubbing his head and frowning. "No," he murmured, "thank you, Nanako. I'm fine. Uncle Dojima woke me up in the middle of the night last night when he left. I must not have gotten enough real sleep, because now I have this terrible headache…"

That left Nanako in a difficult position. On one hand, her cousin had a terrible headache, which meant that she really should stay home and try to help him feel better. On the other hand, if it was true that Adachi had finally been caught, then Nanako was worried about her dad. He wasn't going to be very happy, standing and interrogating his former partner in the police station all alone. Of course, Dad always loved to play the big, bluff cop, out to get his man, but Nanako knew that the Adachi case had really bothered him, and that he'd probably be pretty upset.

"Um," she said distractedly. "Well, coffee doesn't really help headaches, so…maybe some tea? Tea is good for headaches, right"

Yu wheeled his chair over to Nanako's side, and kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay," he said. "Go on. I'll be here when you get back."

"Oh!" said Nanako, "wait, I have an idea. Why don't you come with me? Maybe they have some tea at the station. Dad doesn't drink tea, but I know some people do."

"I don't think I need to go all the way over to the police station to get some tea," Yu informed her. "Still, Nanako, if you want to go together, that's fine. You should know, though, that Uncle Dojima is probably going to ask us to leave. You know how he feels about his work."

Nanako knew perfectly well how he felt about his work, and simply chose not to care. After all, work was one thing, but family was another, and right now, Dad was going to need all of the family that he could find. Good thing she and Yu were on their way to save the day.

"I'll push," she said, positioning herself behind Yu's chair.

"No, you'll ride," said Yu, pulling her carefully around on to his lap. "You're not too old for that yet, are you? Besides, it's a long way. We're going to take the bus."


	18. Chapter Seventen

**Author's Note: **This interim chapter was fun to write because of Junpei, who I love and absolutely missed writing about.

I will probably now spend the next two weeks trying to finish writing the next chapter, which contains a giant, complicated Adachi characterization moment, complete with a lot of Minako, a lot of Yu and Nanako, and even a little bit of angsty Dojima.

I had honestly considered trying it tonight , but the task is such a daunting one that I'm afraid it will have to wait until after rehearsal tomorrow evening. For now, enjoy Junpei!

**Chapter Seventeen**

Minako stood frozen for a few minutes, trying to let the shock pass through and roll out of her again. It was Dojima's voice that finally broke through her stupor.

"Arisato," he said, sounding slightly alarmed. "Hey, snap out of it. What's going on? Do you two know each other?"

Again, Tohru laughed that desperate little laugh of his, and hearing it made Minako feel as though she might suddenly throw up.

"No," she told Dojima hurriedly. "No, I don't think we do. I'm sorry, sir, I've had a stomach ache all morning, I need to…I'll just be a minute." Without waiting for a response, she turned around, and headed towards the door. She was so focused on getting as far away as she could that she must have failed to hear the wheels approaching, and she ended up smacking right into and almost falling over on top of Yu, who was coming in through the station door.

"Eek!" squeaked Nanako, who was apparently sitting on Yu's lap, right where Minako would have fallen if she hadn't managed to catch herself against the armrest of the chair. "Oh no! What's wrong? You look scared! Are you okay?"

No, thought Minako. No, I am not okay. I am a stupid, blind, idiot, in more ways than one. "Yes," she said instead. "Yes, I'm all right, thank you, Nanako-chan. Are you here to see Dojima-san?"

"Um…okay." Nanako still didn't sound convinced. "Yeah, I want to find Dad. Is he here?"

"He's over by the holding cell," murmured Minako distractedly.

She heard Nanako's feet touch the ground, and then head off at a run in the direction that she'd indicated, leaving Minako and Yu alone. "You're not all right," Yu told her, and his tone of voice left no reasonable room for her to protest. "Something happened. What's wrong?"

Yu, thought Minako, was always so caring, always so friendly, always so rational. She recalled what she and Yosuke had discussed, about Yu being perhaps the perfect example of a human being. If there was anyone on earth that she could talk to about this, who would really understand the mistake she had made, it was probably Yu.

"This…is going to be a long story," she began.

Before she had a chance to even begin the story, however, someone else came pounding through the station entrance, panting from exertion and apparent haste.

"Where is he?" asked Yosuke, the hate dripping out of his voice with every syllable. "Where's that son of a bitch Adachi? Is it true? Did they really catch him?" After a brief pause, he added, in a very slightly calmer voice, "Oh, Minako. Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Minako reminded him.

Yosuke took a deep breath. "Yeah," he muttered. "Right. Sure. So, you've got him, right?"

"Yes," agreed Minako. "We've got him. He's in the holding cell."

Yosuke, she thought, wasn't much like his usual self. He was frantic, fidgety, and very different from the reluctantly competent leader-in-training that she so regularly saw in him. "We've gotta get in there and make sure that there aren't any TVs," he insisted. "No monitors. You guys have monitors all over the place, here. I need to talk to Dojima-san." With that, he ran off after Nanako.

"I have a headache," muttered Minako.

"Yeah," said Yu. "So do I. Let's-!"

For the second time, Yu was cut off by the arrival of several people, all of whom began talking at once.

"Yukiko called me!" announced Chie. "Is he locked up? There aren't any TVs in the police station, are there? Oh, man…"

"I heard it on the news," murmured Yukiko. "I wonder how they managed to get him so fast…maybe he just got careless?" She sounded uncertain, as though she didn't really believe that Adachi was the sort of person who could be 'careless' about something like this.

Kanji, Rise, and eventually even Naoto added their voices to the cacophony, and Minako's headache, which had been steadily subsiding for the past half hour, began to throb and burn again. As the noise got worse, so did the pain, until she began to feel clustered and trapped by the crowd of her friends that had suddenly appeared to surround her and Yu.

It was Junpei's raised voice that finally broke through the chaos. "Hey, Mina-tan," he said. "You're shaking, dude."Does your head hurt again? Oh, man, you look awful…"

"Maybe you should take her out of here," suggested Yu.

Junpei's arm was around Minako's shoulders, and then he was leading her through the group and out of the doors into the refreshingly unpopulated morning air. Minako didn't protest when he sat her down on the curb, and then threw himself down next to her.

"Breathe," he instructed her. "Do you want me to call Shinjiro-san? If it's really bad, we can ask him to bring those pain meds you take."

Frantically, Minako shook her head, and then winced as the abrupt motion made her headache worse. "No," she mumbled. "Please, don't call him. I'm fine. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, like hell," muttered Junpei. "All right, don't freak out, I won't call him. What, did you and he have a fight or something?"

It wasn't, thought Minako, that she didn't want to see Shinjiro. She just couldn't imagine trying to talk to Shinjiro right now. She couldn't face him in the midst of the confused, frightened feelings that had taken over ever since Tohru's true identity had revealed itself. How could she look Shinjiro in the eye, when all along she knew that she'd been spending the past few days daydreaming about a serial murderer?

"Oh, god," she muttered.

Junpei sighed. "Yeah," he said, "I thought that might be it. Come on, you can tell me about it. I don't know much about love and stuff, but if he's not treating you right, you know I'll beat the shit out of him for you."

"No…" Minako shook her head, much more gently this time. "No, it's nothing like that. He didn't do anything wrong. It's all my fault. This whole stupid mess is all my fault."

"Tell me," insisted Junpei. "We'll figure it out, right?"

Minako told him. Under normal circumstances, even in Junpei's case, she probably wouldn't have spilled the whole story, but the combination of the panic and the pain in her head was making everything hard to tolerate and understand. It was such a relief to finally say out loud some of the things that she'd been thinking and feeling that all of the words ended up coming out in a rushed, jumbled pile, until Minako wasn't honestly sure what parts of the story she'd told, and what parts she'd saved or omitted. When all of the words and feelings had finally come out, and the story was over, she stopped and waited with more than a little dread for Junpei's response. It wasn't too long in coming.

"Wow," he said, releasing a long, slow breath.

Minako waited some more. After a moment, she asked, "That's…that's it? Aren't you angry?"

"Course I'm angry," Junpei muttered. "I'm angry as shit, listening to you tell me how that punk Adachi tried to take advantage of you. Doesn't matter much now, though. He's locked up, and you're not hurt, so…but next time, you call me, okay? You better promise me, too. If I thought I could get away with it, maybe I'd go take a slug at him right now, but Dojima-san probably won't stand for that kind of thing. Might be worth a try anyway." For a moment, Junpei's voice rose, and Minako could her a very familiar note of barely contained fury in it that reminded her of the many times she'd watched her best friend lose his temper when they'd been back at Gekkoukan together. Taking one more quick breath, he apparently calmed himself down, and his next words came out with the forced friendliness of a man who was making an effort not to make a scene. "Heh. Well. Like I said. There's not much point in thinking about it, now."

"I…kissed a serial killer," Minako reminded him, feeling that perhaps she'd been speaking too quickly and wildly for him to figure that out the first time. "I offered to go on a date with the man who murdered Yosuke's ex-girlfriend, and some other poor woman. What kind of person does that make me?"

Junpei seemed to think about that for a moment. "I don't know what kind of answer you want to that question," he said finally. "I mean, it's not like you knew who he really was. You just made a mistake, that's all."

"Junpei…" Minako exhaled a breath that she'd been holding back, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. I needed someone to say that."

"Good." Junpei sounded almost as relieved as Minako. "Because honestly, I wasn't sure if that was what I was supposed to say."

Minako almost laughed, and Junpei gave her a little squeeze around the shoulders. "It's over now, anyway," he assured her.

Minako, however, wasn't quite convinced. Trying to keep the edge of dread out of her tone, she asked him, "And…you aren't going to tell Shinji?"

This time, Junpei's voice had a little more sternness to it than she'd expected, evidence of the fact that he really was a few years older than her. "Nope," he replied, "I'm not, but…I don't want to be around if he finds out from somebody who isn't you, you know? The two of you are gonna have to figure this one out without my help." That was, of course, recognized Minako, a very valid point. She cringed at the very idea of talking to Shinjiro about any of this, but it would be even more terrible if she didn't tell him, and let him figure things out on his own. After the way she'd panicked and stumbled out of the station just now, it wouldn't be long before everyone started talking about what had been wrong with her. Yukiko, Rise, and Chie already knew that there was another man in the picture, so wouldn't they be able to piece two and two together?

"Ugh," mumbled Minako, biting her lip.

Junpei laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "He's so crazy about you, it's almost obsessive. Not in a creepy way, or anything, just….you know, he cares a lot. A whole lot. It's not like he's going to leave you, right? You're everything he has going for him."

That, unfortunately. did not make Minako feel any better. In fact, it almost made her feel worse, if that was possible.

"Listen," Junpei continued. "Why don't you blow off work today? I'll call Daidara-san, tell him it's a family emergency, and we'll, uh…we'll go to the beach, or something. You could use a break. I could use a break. It's a win-win situation."

He was trying to cheer her up, she knew, and yet for all that it sounded appealing, Minako was aware that today would be a terrible day to make a run for it. If there was any time that Dojima might need her at her desk, it was today. "No," she told him, "no, I'm all right now. Thank you, Junpei. I…you're the best. I need to go back to work, now."

As Minako stood up to head back to the station, feeling at least a little more controlled after her talk, Junpei stood up as well. "Are you sure?" he asked doubtfully. "Are you really gonna be okay in there, around him?"

Minako was reasonably certain that she wasn't, but that didn't change the fact that she had things that she had to do. "Honestly," she lied, "It'll be okay now. I just needed to get all of this off of my chest, I think."

As they walked together back through the police station doors, Minako turned in Junpei's direction, and said, "Please…don't tell anyone about what I told you, okay? It's…well, Yosuke, for example, probably wouldn't like it very much."

"Hah." Junpei snorted. "Understatement of the year. Anyway, who do you think you're talking to? My lips, Mina-tan, are sealed."

The throng of people had dispersed somewhat, and Minako found it a little easier to make her way through the doors and across the main hallway. She could tell by their voices that Yu and Yosuke were still there, chatting in hushed tones until Minako got close enough to overhear their conversation.

"I've gotta go," Yosuke told her, still using the hard, slightly breathless voice she'd heard when he'd first rushed in. "I need to get back to work. See you later, Minako." With that Yosuke walked off. She heard Junpei's grunt of acknowledgement as the two of them apparently met by the doors.

"Feeling better?" asked Yu. "You look a little better."

When she was honest with herself, Minako had to admit that, no; she did not exactly feel better. What she did feel was less alone, which was definitely a step in the right direction. Every time the idea of image of Tohru Adachi entered her head, she still got a little bit of a queasy desire to bolt, but now, at least, she wasn't carrying the secret in silence anymore. "Yes," she replied. A little. Thanks."

"That's good," Yu told her, "because I think there's probably a long day ahead of us. Uncle Dojima was looking for you a few minutes ago. You'll probably find him at the holding cell again."

Resisting the urge to beg, "Do I have to?" Minako swallowed and nodded. "Right," she said, making an effort to sound brighter and more enthusiastic than she really felt. "Okay, well. Back to work I go."

Just as Minako was turning around to leave, she felt Yu's hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to come?" he asked.

Minako thought about that for a moment. "No," she said slowly. "Not…not yet." Something had just begun to occur to her, something that she both wanted and feared to try out. What was it that Tohru had said to her, when they'd first gone down to the riverbank together? Was she remembering it correctly, and if so, could it be that she was right about what he'd meant?

"Will you be here for a little while?" she asked Yu. "I'd like for you to wait for me, if that's okay."

"Sure," said Yu obligingly. "We may be here all day. I don't think Nanako is going to want to leave with Uncle Dojima. Do what you need to do."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Author's Note: **

Now that Adachi is finally locked up, we can return for a while to focusing on the shadows inside Minako and Yu's heads. Next chapter, we'll be finally hearing from Dojima, who I love and have been looking forward to writing. After that, it's back to the Velvet Room.

But for now…well, here's this chapter. Writing about Adachi makes me want to do the same thing Nanako does in this chapter. Again, please keep in mind that I am new at this, and that this chapter is a work in progress.

I'm performing frequently this week, so updates will be sporadic. I'll post one on Wednesday, but nothing on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday due to the show schedule. Thanks for your patience, and for all of your wonderful commentary and friendship!

**Chapter Eighteen**

The day wore on. Minako sat dutifully at her desk, relaying messages, making calls, and brewing a disturbing amount of coffee while Dojima, apparently, interrogated the prisoner. Every so often, the detective would emerge from the area of the cells. He would then drink another cup of coffee in two convulsive gulps, and growl unintelligibly at someone before disappearing again. This had been going on for hours.

Nanako, despite her many protests, had not been allowed to go anywhere near the cells. Unwilling to leave her father alone, she was now sitting at the end of Minako's desk, drawing on some scrap paper with a collection of crayons that one of the other employees had found for her.

At first, Minako had tried to get Nanako to go home, but eventually the diligent scratching of Nanako's crayons against the paper became a comforting background to the thoughts that Minako was doing her best not to think.

"Minako?" asked Nanako hesitantly. "Um, may I please use your scissors?"

Minako frowned. "Is it okay for you to have scissors?" she asked.

That appeared to have been the wrong thing to say. Minako could hear the injured pride in Nanako's voice as the girl informed her, "Of course It is! I'm not a little kid."

Making an effort to stifle her smile, Minako fumbled in her desk drawer until she found the scissors, and handed them over. "Try not to make a mess of my desk, okay?" she implored. "It's hard for me to clean up little bits of paper."

"Don't worry," replied Nanako, not entirely reassuringly. "I'll help!"

Before Minako had a chance to answer, however, she heard Dojima's boots clomping towards them, and realized that it was probably time for another coffee break.

"Take a break, Arisato," he commanded, as Minako heard him slump down into his own desk. "C'mere, Nanako. She's not here to babysit you, you know."

"Hey!" exclaimed Nanako indignantly.

Minako hastened to reassure them both. "It's no trouble," she insisted. "Honestly, sir, I'm enjoying the company."

"Yeah, well," said Dojima. "Thanks, I guess." He sounded tired, and what was more he sounded beaten down, something that Minako couldn't ever remember hearing in his voice before. No wonder, she thought, that Nanako didn't want to leave him.

Preparing to take her break, Minako stood up and crossed the room to retrieve her bag. Just as she was turning to head for the out the station doors, however, Nanako's smaller hand pressed a piece of paper into hers.

"When you see him," said Nanako, "give him this, okay?"

Minako knew that Nanako must be talking about Adachi, who Minako was certainly not planning on going to see. She opened her mouth to protest, but then remembered the questions she'd wanted to ask him, when she'd first asked Yu to wait for her at the station. Eventually, she was going to have to face him, or she knew that she might never be able to sleep again. Maybe now would be better than later. The sooner she was sure about him, the sooner this would all be over, and the sooner she could put this whole nightmarish situation behind her.

With all of that in mind, Minako turned around and headed back towards the cells. There was no sound coming from the place where she knew the prisoner was being held, and she stood there in silence for a moment, wondering what she should say.

"Oh, it's you," sneered Tohru. "Did you come to see the freak show? But, wait, I guess you can't."

"I…" began Minako. This, she realized, had not been a good idea after all. She was not ready for this conversation. "I have a question," she managed.

"Just one?" asked Tohru, with a short laugh. "Okay, shoot, but only if I get to ask one, too."

What, wondered Minako, could he possibly have to ask her? "Fine," she told him. "It's about all those things you told me when we met, about how you were in Inaba because a friend of yours had died. Was that true?"

"Actually, yeah," said Tohru. "It was. Everything I told you, pretty much, was the truth. I can't help it if you were too much of a dumbass to ask the right questions."

Trying to ignore the taunt, Minako nodded. "I want to show you something," she said.

She turned around to leave the cells, but Tohru's voice called out after her. "Wait," he insisted. "Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"I'll be right back,' Minako assured him. She started to cross the room, but was stopped by the sound of wheels rolling against the floor tiles.

"I'm here," said Yu. Minako took his hand, and led him back over to the cell.

She didn't have to say anything. Before she'd even opened her mouth, she heard Tohru's sharp intake of breath.

"Wha-?" he stammered. "No, you're dead. It was all over the papers they gave us. How could you be-?"

"Surprise" murmured Minako.

Yu wheeled himself closer to the bars. "Hello, Adachi-san," he said slowly. "Are you glad to see me?"

"What kind of a stupid question…" muttered Tohru, but he sounded shaken. "So, what is this? Some kind of game? Did you fake your own death to get out of exams, or something?"

"Who cares?" asked Minako. "Do you?"

"No," insisted Tohru. "No, I guess I don't." All the laughter was gone from his voice, now, and Minako remembered the way he'd described Yu at the riverbank, as though the two of them were 'kindred spirits.' At the moment, she was having a hard time seeing a resemblance.

"I never had the chance to really ask you before, not after the final battle," remarked Yu, almost conversationally. His voice was so careful and patient that Minako couldn't help but be impressed by him. How, she wondered, could he manage to stay so calm and unruffled in the face of the man who had tried to kill so many of his friends?

"Ask me what?" snarled Tohru.

"I want to know," Yu insisted. "Why did you do it? Why did you kill those women? Don't say 'because it was fun,' because I know it wasn't fun. It may have been a thrill, but it must also have been scary. You had to know, all the time, that you were risking being caught any minute. So, then, why? What made it worth the risk?"

It was a moment before Tohru said anything at all. Finally, he muttered, "Oh, I see how this is supposed to work. The great Detective Dojima couldn't break me, so he sends in his wiz kid nephew to find out what makes me tick, huh? Why should I tell you anything? It's not like it matters . Either way, I'm going back to jail. Isn't that enough?"

"No," said Yu. "It isn't. I want to understand."

"Trust me, you will." A little shiver ran through Tohru's voice as he said it. "Someday, you'll wake up and you'll get it. You'll figure out what a shithole this world really is, and when you do, you'll think of me."

"Tell me," insisted Yu. Minako couldn't be sure, but she thought she finally heard just al little bit of strain in Yu's patient tones. He's faking it, she realized. He's faking it, and he's doing a very good job.

Tohru sighed. "How do I explain it to a kid like you?" he pondered. "One day, you just sort of look around and realize how meaningless it all is. Nothing matters for more than five minutes, and all those miserable people, working their nine to five jobs and raising their families in the midst of it all, they're all trying so goddamn hard. And for what? For nothing, and a whole lot of nothing, too. After a while, it starts to piss you off, watching the pointless trying, and listening to them talk about how hard work pays off, and how you have to try your best. Nothing's gonna get better. Nothing they do is gonna start to matter, or really make a difference. The world is still gonna suck, and yet nobody seems to be able to figure it out. Maybe I just wanted to shake things up a bit, just to make a point. In the long run, who cares about those women, or about you, or even me? It's all meaningless. Not even you can change that."

There were a few tense moments of silence, which were broken suddenly by an audible sniffle. Minako stiffened in surprise as she heard a pair of smaller feet step quietly over to the cell bars.

"Th-that's so sad," sniffled Nanako. "You're wrong! You're wrong, everything does matter! People matter!" Minako could hear the tears beginning to collect in Nanako's voice, muffling her words, as she choked out, "I hate it! I hate what you said! Why would you say those things? Why are you so sad?"

"N-Nanako-chan," breathed Tohru in surprise.

"Let's go, Nanako." Yu's chair rolled over towards her, and Minako heard his little grunt of exertion as he picked Nanako up and set her on his lap. "You're not supposed to be here. Uncle Dojima will worry."

"But, I wanted-!" sobbed Nanako, as Yu carried her away from the cells. Minako could hear him murmuring soothingly to her while he wheeled her back over to her father's desk. Only then did Minako remember the piece of paper that Nanako had tasked her to deliver to Tohru.

"Here," she said, thrusting the paper at him through the bars. "Nanako wanted you to have this."

Tohru snatched the paper out of her hands, and she listened to the rustling sounds it made as he looked it over.

"Huh," he murmured, more to himself than to Minako. "Her drawing's gotten better since she last did one of these. This actually sorta looks like me. I guess that's the sun right there, and this would be…"

He stopped, and then laughed again, that same desperate, nervous laugh. This time there was a hint of derision in it as well, and Minako sure if that was intended for her or for Tohru himself. "Jeez. The kid drew me a picture. Can you believe that? You think maybe she doesn't know? Maybe Dojima doesn't let her watch the news anymore, or something?"

"I think," said Minako quietly, "that Nanako was right. People do matter. Obviously you mattered to her."

Tohru just kept laughing, his voice rising to an almost hysterical level as he apparently made no effort to control himself. Minako was repulsed, at first, by the laughter, disgusted by the fact that he managed to find something so sickeningly funny in a little girl's affectionate gesture. Then she realized that some of the merriment had begun to turn into choking, strangled sorts of sobs. On an impulse, she reached through the bars to press her fingers to his cheek, and felt the tears coursing down his face even as he continued to laugh helplessly, and his whole body shook with the effort.

"Don't touch me," he spat, recoiling as soon as her fingers brushed against him.

"You're crying," accused Minako.

"And you," retorted Tohru breathlessly, "are a dumbass. I bet you're enjoying this, huh?"

"No," Minako told him honestly. "I'm really not."

Slowly, almost painfully, the laughter subsided into heavy, shuddering breaths. "Yeah," agreed Tohru. "I guess you probably aren't, at that."

Minako waited until he had finally regained some semblance of control.

"So," he asked her, once his voice had stopped shaking. "What are you still doing here? The case is closed. You caught the bad guy. Shouldn't you be out with your police buddies, celebrating or something?"

"You said you wanted to ask me a question," Minako reminded him.

"Right. I did," agreed Tohru. "So, here it is; did you do this? Did you set this up?"

Minako didn't understand. "Did I set what up?" she asked.

"Me," Tohru clarified. "The arrest. This whole operation. I have to admit, I'm impressed. You were good. You were...you were really good." The derision in his voice faded, and just for a moment, Minako could hear in him a sadness that none of the violence of his conversation had allowed her to notice before. "Yeah, you really had me going, for a while there. I almost thought…" He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice had hardened and the sadness was gone. "Anyway, I guess that's why you told me to ask you out last night. You were trying to get me to let my guard down. It was a good plan. Like I said, I'm really impressed."

Minako's head was spinning again. What, she wondered, was Tohru talking about? After all, hadn't he been the one with the plan all along? There was something accusatory in his voice that Minako neither understood nor liked. "I don't know what you're talking about," she assured him. "I didn't have anything to do with your arrest. I didn't even know who you really were."

Tohru was quiet for a moment, and Minako felt the uncomfortable sensation of being closely watched. Then, he sighed. "Yeah," he muttered. "Okay. Either you're an even better actress than I thought, or you just told me the truth."

Unlike you, thought Minako, I don't' make a habit out of telling lies. Then she thought about Shinjiro, and winced. "Why wouldn't I tell the truth?" she asked, mostly to cover her own confusion. "What do I have to hide?"

"Heh." Tohru sounded oddly relieved. "Nothing. It's weird, but…I feel pretty good about that. Maybe you should ask Dojima and your police friends about what they found when they caught me. That might clear some things up for you."

Minako tried to think. She knew that Adachi had been apprehended at the flood plain. Someone had told her that, but who had it been? She couldn't remember. She did know that she'd been to the flood plain earlier that day, maybe only a couple of hours after the arrest had taken place. Minako was sure she'd been there, because she remembered cleaning up the ice cream and the flowers that had been littering the ground.

Suddenly, the truth dawned on Minako's mind, a mind that she knew up until that moment had been fighting tooth and nail to steer clear of that truth. She gasped involuntarily, and Tohru made a satisfied little noise in his throat.

"Yeah, there you go," he said. "Your face says that you've got it now."

"Tohru-san," began Minako, uncertain even as she spoke as to what she wanted to tell him. Part of her wanted to spit on him, to give in to her inherent disgust at the idea of being offered ice cream and flowers by a serial murderer. The other part of her, the unwelcome, persistent part that she couldn't seem to dissuade with rationale and reason, was oddly touched by the image of him standing on the flood plain, waiting nervously for the opportunity to treat her the way she'd asked to be treated.

"Wow," murmured Tohru. "So you can still look at me like that, even after you know the truth?"

Instinctively, Minako turned away from him, cursing herself for being unguarded enough to let her thoughts show on her face. A heavy hand came down on her shoulder, and then Dojima's voice was in her ear.

"Arisato," he ordered. "Come with me."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Author's Note: **Oh dear, it has been several days since I updated. I'm very sorry about the delay. It has been a very complicated and difficult few days for me, full of both trials and triumphs, and I am really looking forward to sitting down and spending some time happily working on this story.

Thank you very much for your patience! Here, finally, is the next chapter. Stay tuned, I'll post another update tomorrow, this time with extra Nanako.

Oh, by the way! For more insight into my interpretation of the Dojima/Adachi conflict, please feel free to check out these two new extra/one shots I posted recently, called **I Am in Blood**, and **Partners.** I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!

I'd also like to say, I got two amazingly thoughtful and kind reviews from **randomreaderhere** and the elusive **Guest**! Thank you so much for taking the time! I wish I had a way of contacting you personally to answer your questions and thank you properly.

**Chapter Nineteen**

It was with a growing sense of trepidation that Minako followed Dojima back to her desk, uncertain of exactly how much he had overheard. As she sunk into her chair, she could feel the detective's imposing presence looming over her.

"Tell me," he demanded. "What happened between you and Adachi?"

Minako wallowed nervously. "Um, what?" she managed to ask. Apparently, she realized, Dojima had heard more than enough.

"Don't play dumb with me," he insisted. "I saw the way you two looked at each other. How long have you known him? What exactly is the nature of your relationship?"

Those rapid fire questions caused two things to happen in Minako's head at once. For one thing, she didn't like Dojima's tone. He was using his 'interrogation' voice, the voice she so often heard him use with convicted criminals, and she could already feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising in righteous indignation at what she considered to be his inappropriate and unfounded badgering. At the very same time, however, something about what Dojima had just said stuck in her mind. I wonder, she thought, almost against her conscious will, what exactly he means about how Tohru looks at me. Does he look at me in some special way? What sort of special way?

Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, Minako frowned, and swallowed once before speaking. "With all due respect, Dojima-san," she began, "I don't have to answer questions about my personal life."

Although Minako had known that the answer would hardly delight him, she was surprised by the violence of Dojima's response. Slamming his hand down hard on the desk, he bellowed at her, "The hell you don't!" Either you quit being cute and answer the damn questions, or we can do it the hard way, and I can arrest you for obstruction of justice."

"Obstruction of what justice?" asked Minako, her temper beginning to get the better of her judgment. "I haven't done anything wrong! What exactly are you accusing me of, sir? Do you think that I had something to do with those murders? Or maybe I was the one who helped Adachi escape from prison, is that what you think?"

There was a short, heavy silence, and Minako couldn't be certain whether or not Dojima was about to lock her up and throw into the cells next to Tohru. The tense, quiet moments dragged on into what felt like hours, until, finally, Dojima sighed.

"Minako," he said, in a much more level, controlled tone of voice. "Please. I've done everything I can think of, but I can't make him talk. I am running out of options, and I am running out of time. Help me out. I'm not accusing you of anything. I don't suspect you of being involved in the murders, or the prison break. I'm asking you to do a favor for a very tired, very frustrated old man."

At first, Minako didn't quite understand. She hadn't missed Dojima's tell-tale use of her first name, which was no doubt a tactic intended to help win her sympathies. What she couldn't quite figure out was what exactly he had meant by the phrase "make him talk." "What do you want him to talk about?" she asked. "He already confessed to all of the murders, didn't he? What else do you need to know?"

"I need to know the why," explained Dojima. "I need to understand what drove him to kill those women. I need to get inside of his head to get at the truth of this whole crazy mess. It's been keeping me up at night for over a year. I want to be done with it, to let it go. There has to be an answer for why he did what he did. I won't accept…no. I can't accept that I'll never have that answer."

Dojima sounded more honest and vulnerable than Minako had ever heard him sound before. "Does the 'why' really matter so much?" she asked.

"Yeah," muttered Dojima. "To me, yeah, it does."

Minako, who would have readily categorized herself as a 'bleeding heart,' felt an unexpected kinship forming between her and the dogged older detective. Dojima was eager, even desperate for any scrap of proof that the man he'd once called his partner still contained some of the recognizable qualities of a human being. Maybe if Dojima knew why he'd done it, she reasoned with herself, then he'd be able to rationalize Adachi's actions as something potentially excusable or at the very least, explicable by means of reason. She understood that need all too well. After all, whether she admitted it out loud or not, wasn't that a reprieve that she, too, was hoping to find?

"Okay," she agreed.

As carefully and accurately as she could, Minako described her meeting with Tohru, as well as the brief and confusing series of interactions that had followed. Without being perfectly sure we she did it, she left out the parts about her kissing him, and about him nearly assaulting her at the riverbank. That, she told herself, was probably too racy and too embarrassing to share with her tough-as-nails employer, anyway.

When she'd finished her story, Dojima grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, sounding even more glum and gloomy than he had moments before. "Well," he told her, "that doesn't help much. Still, I guess you didn't get killed, which is something. The way he was following you around at night, you're probably lucky we caught him as fast as we did."

"But, wait," protested Minako, honestly surprised that Dojima hadn't found anything else remarkable in her description of the facts. Hadn't he been listening when she'd explained about how Tohru had saved her life on at least two separate occasions? Or, did Dojima think that Tohru had only been toying with her? For that, matter, she wondered suddenly, was he right? Had Tohru only saved her those two or three times to keep her engaged as a part of his twisted game?

"I need some coffee," Dojima announced. Minako immediately stood up to get it. "No, it's okay," he insisted. "I've beaten you up enough for one day. I'll take care of the coffee. You just…go home. And try not to talk to strangers on your way back, this time."

Pointedly ignoring that last comment, Minako insisted, "No, sir, I don't mind. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay here for the rest of the day. At least while I'm working, I can help you and do something useful."

She walked over to the coffee maker, which unfortunately took her past the cells. Although she hurried by as quickly as she could, she could still hear Tohru calling out to her.

"Hey," he said. "Was that you that I heard back there, shouting at Dojima-san? Not too many people have the guts to stand up to him…you're either brave or stupid as hell. That's…actually kinda hot."

"Shut up," she snapped at him.

**Meanwhile, at the Junes food court…**

Nanako argued and objected the entire time that she spent riding with Yu over to the Junes food court. She hadn't, she insisted, been ready to leave yet. There were still things that she wanted to say to Adachi-san, and she didn't want to leave Dad alone, when he was obviously having a really hard time.

"Wow," murmured Teddie, walking over to their table. "What happened? Nana-chan, you look really mad!"

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, who apparently had also noticed them coming in. "and I have totally seen that look on Nanako's face before, somewhere."

"Minako," Yu reminded him.

Yosuke nodded. "Oh yeah…you're right, that's exactly what Minako looks like when she gets really pissed off at us for worrying too much. I was right. We should never have let the two of them start hanging out together…"

"Hey!" shouted Nanako, aware that no one was really paying any attention to her. "Are you listening? I said, I'm going back!"

"And I said no," insisted Yu quietly, but much more sternly than usual. "Sit down and I'll go and get you a soda."

Nanako stamped her foot. "I don't want a soda!" she announced, but she sat down anyway, and Yu wheeled off to buy her one.

"Hey," began Teddie. "Did you and Sensei get into a big lover's quarrel? Is that it?"

Yosuke smacked an exasperated hand against his forehead. "Ew, gross. Teddie, the word you're looking for is 'sibling rivalry.' At least, uh, I hope it is. Seriously, though, Nanako-chan, are you okay?"

Nanako did not feel okay. She was angry and disappointed, still listening to the things that Adachi-san had said rattling around inside her mind. Still, now that she was sitting down, and feeling at least a little bit more in control of herself, she recognized the need for politeness.

"Yes, I'm okay," she promised them both. Thank you for asking."

"Did Adachi-baby do something scary?" persisted Teddie.

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, suddenly looking concerned. "He didn't hurt you, did he? What was Dojima-san thinking, anyway, letting a little kid in to see a murderer?"

Nanako bit her lip. "I'm not a little kid," she insisted, for what felt like the one hundredth time that day. "And he's my friend." Hearing herself say that stopped her short. Was that still true, she wondered? Sure, Adachi-san had been her friend once upon a time, when he'd used to spend time with her and Dad at the house, and she'd drawn pictures for him and always let him choose the best sushi first. Now that he was maybe someone else, was he still her friend? How could she tell?

It was too much for her right now, she decided. There were too many frustrating questions and things that she didn't understand. There had to be something she could do to make herself feel better, something that would make her feel as though the world was a place that she could make sense of. If she wasn't allowed to stay and help Dad, she would have to find some other way to fix things. The kind of woman that she knew she was supposed to be growing into wouldn't just sit around at a time like this. Her mother, Chisato, wouldn't have just sat around.

"I'm going to the Velvet Room," she told them.

Yosuke blinked at her. "What, right now? Aren't you, uh, gonna wait for your Big Bro to bring that soda?"

"Of course not," mumbled Nanako, with perfect rationale. "When he comes back, he'll tell me that I can't go. He's always telling me things that I can't do. Let's go right now, before he gets the sodas."

Just having that thought sent a little stab of guilt into Nanako's heart. She loved her Big Bro, more than she loved anyone else in the whole wide world, except maybe for Dad. The very idea that she didn't want to see him for some reason was so foreign to her that it made her instantly sad. Big Bro was and always would be her special hero. It was just that, right now, there was something that she needed to do for herself that there was no way he would understand.

"That's…not a good idea," Yosuke was saying. "He would be so pissed at me if he found out that I took you in there without asking him first."

"That's what we did last time," Nanako reminded him. "And I told him all about that, so it's okay."

"What?" That, for some reason, seemed to make Yosuke even more worried. "You told him about it? I thought that was our secret! Oh, man, now he really is gonna kill me…"

Teddie was looking thoughtful. "If Sensei is going to kill you already," he reasoned slowly, "then it doesn't really matter if we disobey him again, right? So, let's go!'

"No way, hold on. That makes no sense!" Yosuke shouted, but it was too late. Nanako and Teddie were already on their way to the electronics department.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Author's Note: ** Double update today! And, as promised, here's lots more Nanako!

Oh, man, I actually did it again…posted an update, got halfway through the second update, and then fell asleep. This time it was **Meai42**'s review that sent the email that woke me up.

Again, I am taking some slight liberties with the fusion. Please bear with and be willing to learn new things! Oh, and don't' worry, we're not going to one-hit kill things forever. I promise.

**Chapter Twenty**

"I'm back!" called Nanako, as soon as she stepped through the door into the Velvet Room. Igor and all three of his assistants looked up, and gave her their polite, almost identically welcoming smiles.

"Welcome back," murmured Theodore. "Is there a way that we might be of service to you, today?"

Nanako pulled the new "Angel" card out of where she'd been hiding it in her pocket. "Can you tell me please," she asked, "what this is? It looks like my Icarus card. Um," she added, suddenly remembering, "I found it when Icarus got rid of that big squid shadow that was trying to get into Big Bro's head. Do I…have to give it back?"

Elizabeth took the card out of Nanako's outstretched hand, and passed it over to Margaret, who passed it to Theodore, who passed it, in his turn, to Igor. Igor spent a moment staring thoughtfully at the picture of the angel. "This," he said finally, "is the card used to summon the persona called 'Angel,' a persona of the justice arcana. I predict that it will have very interesting results if fused with Icarus, the persona you now carry."

"Fused?" Nanako didn't quite understand what that meant. To fuse something was to attach it to something else, wasn't it? How could you fuse a persona?

"If combined with Angel," continued Igor patiently, "the persona Icarus would develop even greater and more impressive powers, powers that perhaps we have not seen before even inside this Velvet Room. Would you like to try it?"

Behind Nanako, Teddie suddenly shifted uncomfortably. "Wait, Nana-chan," he began.

Nanako didn't hear him in time. "Yes," she told Igor. "Um, yes, I think so. So, what do I have to-?"

Before she had even finished the sentence, Igor raised both of his arms into the air, and, much to Nanako's surprise, the Icarus card flew right out of her pocket to join the Angel card that was now hovering somehow in midair. Oh, she thought, Igor could do magic. That was good to know.

Both cards hung there for a moment, glowing slightly and illuminating the darker corners of the room. Then, unexpectedly, the two cards joined together, and at the same time, Nanako could see the image of Icarus in front of her, standing next to a woman with wings, who looked just like the woman in the picture on the angel card. As Nanako watched, Icarus and the angel woman were standing next to each other, and then, just like that, they weren't, and were instead now standing…inside of each other? Although she knew what she thought she'd seen, that couldn't possibly be right, thought Nanako. Now, instead of Icarus and the angel, there was a beautiful, golden-haired girl sitting on the floor where the two personas had been. The girl was wearing a white dress that looked like it came out of a princess storybook, and there was a soft, sunny glow all around her body, coming out of her hands and her eyes.

"This," murmured Igor, "is Dawn, also of the Justice arcana. Truly remarkable. For the second time, you have amazed us by revealing the nature of a persona that no one in this room has yet had the opportunity to see. I look forward with interest to your future as the Wild Card..."

Nanako was fascinated by the beauty of the woman called "Dawn," but something else was still bothering her. "But," she insisted, "Where's Icarus? Why did he disappear? Where did he go?" She remembered distinctly promising Icarus that everything was going to be okay, and that she would look out for him. What kind of person would she be if she broke that promise and let him just vanish like that?

"Icarus," said Margaret, "and Angel are now one persona, the persona called Dawn. They have come together and changed into something new through their combined powers. Icarus himself, in his original form, is still present within your mind. You may find him there at any time."

That sounded an awful lot like what people always said about Nanako's mother, Chisato. "She's still in your heart," they had told her, when, in her younger years, she hadn't been able not to cry. "If you want your mother, just think about her and she'll be with you again!' That, of course, had never worked. No matter how hard Nanako had tried to think her mother back to life, Chisato had never come. Was this something like that? Had Icarus gone to the same place that Nanako's mother had?

"But I don't want him to change," she insisted, trying to quell the panic that was starting to well up in her heart. "I promised him that I wouldn't let anything hurt him. That means I can't let him turn into someone else. I'm supposed to protect him! Bring him back! I don't want him to die!"

Suddenly, a hand was resting on Nanako's shoulder, and she turned around to find Teddie standing just behind her, looking calmly into her eyes. "I was afraid this might happen," he said sadly. "Nana-chan, Icarus didn't die. He's okay. Personas aren't like people. They can be in more than one place at the same time! It's like…he and Angel made Dawn, and now he's gone back to live inside your head, until you want him to come out again."

Nanako wrinkled her nose in frustration. "So…Dawn is Icarus and Angel's baby?" she asked.

Yosuke sighed. "Not exactly. Hey, Igor, can you bring Icarus out again?"

In moments, Icarus was standing in front of Nanako, sheepishly flexing his wings just as he always was. Nanako grinned with relief, and wrapped her arms under the wings to give him a hug. Icarus just looked at her out of his puzzled, soulful eyes.

Igor handed back Nanako's persona cards, passing them back down the line of assistants until they reached Nanako. When Nanako looked, she found that she now held three cards. She had Icarus, Angel, and now Dawn, who looked in her picture just the way she did in real life.

"Thank you," Nanako told Igor. "Um, I'm sorry I got upset."

"So, what now, Nanako-chan? Are you ready to go back?" Yosuke was clearly hoping she'd say yes, and Nanako felt a twinge of guilt for dragging him around like this. She considered telling him that she'd be just fine if he left her here with Teddie, but realized that saying that would probably only make the situation worse. Yosuke, Nanako knew, had always been one of the most loyal and protective of her Big Bro's friends. Now that Yu wasn't here to protect her, Yosuke was determined to protect them both.

"Let's go back to those doors," she told them. "We can see if there are any more squid there."

"Ah," asked Margaret, rising from her seat. "Have you come to join your friend, then?"

Nanako had no idea what she was talking about. Judging from the looks on Yosuke's and Teddie's faces, neither of them had a clue either.

"Uh, what friend?" asked Yosuke.

Margaret led them through the nightmare door and into the room surrounding the entrances to their injured comrade's minds. There was, as Margaret had indicated, already someone there, lying on the floor outside of the Izanagi door, and looking the worse for wear. As Nanako got closer, she recognized Shinjiro, who was now struggling to get back to his feet, as a trickle of blood ran down and across his leg.

"Shinjiro-san!" exclaimed Yosuke. "Wait, seriously? All by yourself? Are you insane? If four people couldn't beat that thing, then how you were gonna do it without any backup?"

Shinjiro grunted dismissively. "Won't know if I don't try," he muttered. "You guys are taking too long anyway. Minako's suffering because of this…this thing. I can't just wait around and…ugh." It looked to Nanako as though his leg was really hurting him. He laid his hand over the wound on it, grimacing as his fingers touched the injury.

"Oh, here!" Hurrying forward, Teddie summoned his persona and spent a few moments healing Shinjiro, which allowed him to finally get back on to his feet.

"Thanks," he said, looking almost embarrassed.

"How did you escape, anyway?" insisted Yosuke. "Knocked down like that, I would have thought that thing would have killed you."

Shinjiro shrugged. "Looks like the shadow doesn't want to leave that room. Once I'm out here, it doesn't follow me. Should be easier to kill, if it's just standing still like that, but…damn, it's really strong. I still can't even hit it…"

Margaret spoke up. "Shinjiro," she informed them, "has been coming to this room for several days now to attempt to destroy the shadow behind this door. His bravery is commendable, but even I have been forced to remind that one person alone is unlikely to be able to defeat a shadow of this magnitude and power."

Nanako felt a little bit proud of Shinjiro, even though she knew that what Margaret and Yosuke had said was true. Maybe he shouldn't have come alone, and maybe there was no way he could ever have managed to defeat it, but hadn't Dad always said that if you don't succeed, you have to try again and again? That seemed to be what Shinjiro was doing, and she admired that.

"You really love Minako, don't you, Shinjiro-san?" she asked.

Shinjiro just nodded once.

"Okay," said Nanako."Then let's go in and get it, all four of us. We can do it together!"

She was absolutely certain of what she said, but none of the other three looked too convinced.

"Remember, Nanako-chan, we've tried this before," said Yosuke. "Even Rise couldn't find a weakness on that thing. If it doesn't have one, then-!"

Nanako was adamant. "Let me try," she demanded. "Igor says that I have powers too, special powers. I want to make Minako feel better. If she feels better, then so will Shinjiro-san, and so will everybody else."

Yosuke didn't seem to have any reasonable argument to that, although he clearly wished that there was something he could say to refute her. "So, the shadow won't' come out of that room, right?" he asked Shinjiro. "You're sure? If we run away, it won't follow us?"

"Sure," agreed Shinjiro.

"I wonder," muttered Yosuke absently, as he and Shinjiro began to wrench at the now closed door, "how much it hurts to get run over by a wheelchair? Or maybe he'd beat me over the head with it instead…I bet that would do some serious damage."

As soon as the door was open, the horse shadow was there, rearing back on its hind legs and snorting menacingly at them, as though it had been awaiting their entrance. Yosuke immediately fired off a barrage of wind, and Shinjiro chipped away at it with his axe, but, just as the others had insisted, nothing seemed to have any effect. The horse shadow lashed out with physical attacks, but Teddie, devoting himself to his healing spells, was like a whirlwind of comfort, taking every opportunity to assuage an injury.

Nanako had to be honest with herself. At first, she was genuinely a bit frightened. This thing was bigger, stronger, and scarier than the shadows she'd faced and destroyed before, and it was relentlessly working to tear apart her friends. That, of course, was why she had to do something. Even if Teddie was managing to keep things together for the moment, soon they'd either have to run away, or be too hurt to go back.

"Dawn," whispered Nanako, pulling out her newest persona card.

The beautiful girl with the golden hair appeared in front of her, shining and glowing so much that Nanako had to squint to block out the light. Immediately upon Dawn's emergence, the horse shadow looked up, distracted from its assault on Teddie, and for a moment, Nanako met it's yellow, terrifying stare.

"Okay," she murmured, and Dawn's hands shot forward, letting forth a burst of what appeared at first to be sunbeams, which rained down on the horse shadow's head. Even as the sunlight showered on to the shadow, a ring of flames engulfed it at the same time, so that the shadow was almost invisible in the midst of a magical inferno of hot and shining colors. The colors were soon spattered with the red and black as the horse dissolved and disappeared into the air around it.

"Impressive," murmured Margaret, as the door closed of its own accord, perhaps flung shut by the impact of the attack. "An attack that appears to be made of both light and fire skills, and is yet both and neither in the same instant. A new sort of attack, then. My master will be very pleased."

Just as the door was closing, however, Nanako noticed something else, large and dark, lurking in the space behind where the horse shadow had been.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Author's Note: **My beloved and oh-so-wonderful readers, you seem concerned that I am making it too easy for Nanako to win battles. Trust me, I promise there's a system behind this. If we don't give Nanako a few easy wins at the beginning, it will be much harder to get her to come back for more. She'll make it to the hard battles. In fact, this next shadow, the one she just saw in the back of Minako's mind, is one that she'll never be able to defeat on her own for reasons that will become clear later.

"The beginning?" you ask. "But Ari, this is already chapter twenty one!"

…well, true, but this is going to be a very long story…

Thank you all, as always, for your wonderful comments and questions. It was so relaxing to write these and to chat with some of you today. It really made up for the past few days of torture at work.

**Chapter Twenty One**

At the police station, Dojima had finally been persuaded to take a break, and he'd stepped out for a few minutes to go down the street for a sandwich. Minako was dutifully seated as his desk, standing by in case anyone came through who needed Dojima's immediate attention, or for Minako to take a message for later. So far, no one had needed her for anything, and she'd had far too much time to be alone with her thoughts.

Instead of letting herself wallow in the nightmare that this day had turned itself into, Minako, as usual, made an effort to make herself useful. She cleaned up Dojima's desk to the best of her ability, feeling out the coffee stains with her fingers and wiping them down with a wet cloth. All of the papers she left alone. Even after their unexpected rapport earlier that door, She knew that Dojima wouldn't hesitate to fire her, or worse, if he caught her disarranging what he pretended was a system of documentation.

As Minako was carrying Dojima's oft-used coffee mug from the desk to the sink, she again had to walk past the holding cells, which had been eerily but thankfully quiet for at least an hour now. As she passed by, however, she again heard Tohru call out to her from behind the bars.

"Hey, blind girl," he said. "Where did everybody go? Did you all forget about me or something? Damn, fame does only last for fifteen minutes…"

At first, Minako ignored him. At least, she pretended to ignore him, although every time he spoke to her a little stab of indescribable feeling still shot through her unsteady heart. Junpei had been right, she knew. It would have been so much better if she'd stayed home today, and kept away from Tohru, who she still had trouble thinking about as Adachi, the notorious Inaba murderer. Much as she might hate him for the betrayal that she felt, she was so attuned to enjoying the sound of his voice that when he spoke to her, it was all she could do not to hurry over and listen. Maybe if she'd known him for a long time, or had been very close to him, it would have been easier for her to break away from his thrall. Familiarity, s he knew, could tend to breed contempt. Infatuation like this, however, after only a few days of daydreaming, was very difficult to move past so abruptly.

"Come on," insisted Tohru, in his teasing, cajoling voice. "You don't have to be like that. What can I do? I'm locked up. I'm finished. I can't touch you. You're safe from me. It's boring as hell in here when nobody's trying to break me. At least keep me company for a few minutes."

She hated how glib and unconcerned he seemed about the whole thing. How could he act so normal, when the situation was so dire, for both of them in different ways?

"Leave me alone," she told him firmly.

"Hah!" Tohru sounded triumphant. "See? I got you to answer me after all. You're not very good at this 'cold shoulder' game, are you?"

With a sigh of frustration, Minako turned around, wondering what exactly the repercussions would be she found a way to strike at him through the bars. It would feel good, she knew, to do him some sort of harm or injury, to cause him some sort of pain that she could tangibly feel and recognize.

As it happened, she didn't have to hit him. As soon as she stalked over to the bars, Tohru's voice changed slightly, and she could hear the disappointment behind his jeers as he told her, "Wow, you…you really hate me, huh? Man, you're face just gives everything away…never wanted to see it looking like that, though."

Wishful thinking on her part led Minako to tell him, "Of course I hate you!" even though she knew it wasn't nearly true enough. "You're a cold blooded killer! You hurt my friends and the people they loved! How could anyone not hate you?"

"Yeah," agreed Tohru. "Well, I did warn you. If you'd just trusted me from the beginning then…" He stopped, and laughed a bitter little laugh. "Wow, the irony of that is just beautiful."

There were a lot of things that Minako could have said to that, and she opened her mouth to give him one of them when, suddenly, those thoughts were wiped completely out of her mind. Again, just as it had a few days before, the world suddenly exploded into visual splendor all around her, and she gasped out loud as the room swam into stunning and unexpected view. She was staring through the bars of the cell into Tohru's face, and in the moment before everything went black again she saw him, slumped into a sitting position on the ground, with a pair of handcuffs forcing his wrists together in front of him. For a moment, he looked up and met her eyes, and then the picture was gone, the world was her sightless world again, and Minako found herself desperately disappointed, and again able to breathe.

"Aahh," she whispered, trying to get her bearings back. This wasn't, she reminded herself, the first time that something like this had happened. For all that she didn't know why it happened or what had caused it, there was no point, she knew, in spending too much time to analyze it or to get the sensation back.

At least, that was what she told herself, but her heart and mind both ached for the chance to see just one more tiny moment of the beautiful world all around her. The torture of having that single, tantalizing glimpse made the longing even worse.

"Hey, snap out of it," Tohru was saying, sounding shaken. "What happened? Are you gonna fall over again? I can't catch you this time, so you're on your own."

Minako, however, had no intention of falling over. Slowly, carefully, she listened to the sound of her own breathing, forcing the air in and out as she calmed herself down to the best of her ability. Something about what she'd seen during that moment was dragging at the corners of her mind, trying to get her attention back. Despite his derisive and flippant tone of voice, Minako could still picture how miserable and defeated Tohru had looked behind those bars, and the stark contrast between that vulnerable image, and his recent snide conversation was frankly jarring.

Footsteps accompanied by the sound of rolling wheels against the tile alerted Minako to the arrival of her friends. She heard them run up behind her, and a hand closed over her shoulder as Yosuke announced triumphantly, "We got it! We killed that shadow, like, blam! Dead!"

"Actually, interjected Teddie conscientiously, "It was Nana-chan who really killed it…"

"How do you feel, Minako?" asked Yu.

Minako wasn't sure how to answer that question. She felt…a lot of things, many of which seemed contradictory to one another. One thing she did know, however, was that she did not have a headache.

"I feel good," she told them. "I feel…I feel better. Thank you, all of you. Is anyone hurt?"

"Nah," muttered Shinjiro. "We're fine. Teddie's kinda strange, but he's a good healer."

"Hey!" protested an indignant Teddie. "That hurts me…it really does. How could you be so cruel, Shinjiro-san?"

Shinjiro's arms wrapped around Minako's shoulders and he pulled her against him to kiss the top of her head. "It's over now," he told her. For the first time days, Minako felt absolutely no desire to pull away from him. Instead, she rested her head against his chest for a moment, then turned around and reached up with one hand to pull his face closer to hers.

Was it her imagination, she wondered, or did she hear a strangled little exclamation come from behind the cell bars?

"Hey," mumbled Shinjiro, "Stop it. There are other people around."

"Like they don't know?" asked Minako with a shrug. She went to move away from him, but despite his words, Shinjiro held on to her, keeping her close to him as he shifted around, turning back to face the others.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

Minako knew that she was technically still supposed to be at work, but the driving passion to stay at her desk no matter what happened seemed to have left her all at once. Positive that Dojima would understand her need for a respite, she let Shinjiro and the rest of her friends guide her away from the cells and over towards the station entrance, chatting quietly to each other all the time.

"I still haven't figured out how I'm going to punish you for leaving me at the food court like that," Yu announced casually.

"Oh, man…" Yosuke swallowed audibly. "I said I was sorry, okay? Please don't hit me over the head with a chair…"

"Huh?" Teddie sounded confused. "Doesn't that sound more like something that Kanji would do?

Nanako, Minako realized, was probably with them, judging from the tip tap of smaller footsteps that she could hear walking alongside her. "Nanako?" she asked. "You're very quiet. Are you all right? You didn't get hurt inside the Velvet Room, did you?" Minako found that she couldn't bear the idea of the brave little girl getting injured on her account.

"No," Nanako assured her, "I'm fine." For all of that, thought Minako, she certainly didn't sound fine. Maybe Nanako was just exhausted after her ordeal with the shadows. After all, she was a much smaller person, and fighting with personas was a physically and mentally taxing experience.

"Thank you," said Minako , reaching out to touch the top of Nanako's head. "Thank you for defending me and for protecting Shinji. You're a brave person and a very good friend."

She had, of course, hoped that those words would cheer Nanako up, but judging by the girl's sad little sigh, it seemed that Minako had only managed to make matters worse. What on earth, she wondered, had gotten Nanako so down?

After a few pleasant goodbyes and several more expressions of heartfelt gratitude, Minako and Shinjiro left their friends behind and headed for home. Shinjiro made dinner, and they sat down to the table together in a semblance of refreshing harmony that was an amazing source of relief to Minako.

"You're not going to give me a hard time for coming to pick you up from work?" Shinjiro asked, as they ate. "Or for going into the Velvet Room without telling you first?"

"No, why would I?" asked Minako. "You did me a favor, a huge favor. I…I guess 'I appreciate it' isn't enough, huh?"

Shinjiro laughed. "Nah, it's plenty," he assured her. "You just…you seem different. Less tense. For a few days, I was starting to think that…" He stopped, and then apparently changed his mind. "Never mind," he insisted. "I'm just glad you're feeling better. It's nice to see you smiling like that."

He reached out across the table and closed her hand in his larger one, sending two different feelings shooting down Minako's spine. On one hand, it had been so long since she'd allowed them to really be alone together that her mind had already begun to go slightly inappropriate places the moment she felt his touch. On the other hand, she was all too aware that she'd spent the past few days fantasizing actively about another man. Sitting here, now, with Shinjiro, having just been rescued by him from psychological torment, she realized that she probably couldn't go on keeping that fact a secret any longer. If she didn't tell him soon, the guilt would only get worse, and neither of them would ever be able to forgive her for the breach.

She took a deep, calming breath. "Shinji," she began, "there's…there's something that I have to tell you. You're not going to like it, but…"

Shinji squeezed her hand. "Forget it," he said. "If I'm not going to like it, then don't tell me."

"But," protested Minako, "I have to-!"

Abruptly, Shinjiro leaned across the table and kissed her, something that he rarely did in the middle of something so sacred as a the last meal of the day. "I said forget it," he insisted, a little more firmly. "I can guess. Look, you weren't responsible for what happened while those shadows were controlling you, okay?"

No, Minako thought, that isn't true. I may not have been fully in control, but what happened because of the shadows is really what I wanted to happen, isn't it? Minako couldn't help but feel as though she was just as guilty as anyone else of committing a transgression, perhaps even more so because, even after she'd been aware of the influence of the shadows, she had still been guilty of the feelings that had spurred on the action in the first place. Even now, even knowing that her friends had gotten rid of the shadow and freed up that space in her mind, Minako had trouble thinking about Tohru. She didn't want to think too hard about him, only to realize that the feelings hadn't actually changed.

"Shinji, please," she began. "I want to tell you."

"Let it go," insisted Shinjiro. "Let's just…finish dinner."

They ate for a few minutes in slightly strained silence. Minako had to admit to herself that at least trying to tell Shinjiro the truth did make her feel a little bit better about the situation. If he was too afraid that hearing the words out loud would hurt him, at least she couldn't blame herself for knowingly keeping secrets.

"All right," she agreed, sighing around the bite of food that she was forking into her mouth.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Author's Note: **Hello again! I just wanted to give you all a head's up that we are about to face a couple of brain-eating shadows that are a little different from the last one. Minako is going to be dealing with a, um, slightly more adult shadow. Do you all remember that infamous moment in Persona 3, the one where you're in the hotel room? Yeah, think of that kind of shadow. That part of the story will, of course, also lead into the long-anticipated double date with Junpei, Rise, Minako and Shinjiro…

Anyway, I wanted to warn you that things are going to get a little racy in here, and with that in mind, I have, for absolutely no reason, created a poll. You can find it on my profile page. The poll asks the question "which of Minako's love interest are you the most interested in?" Honestly, I was just curious, so if you get bored, go ahead over to my profile and check it out. Thanks!

Also, I've been doing some re-planning and re-plotting of this story, based on a wonderful suggestion by **Meia42.** Since this story is getting insanely long, we are definitely going to turn it into two stories. More details on that are pending!

Thanks for your patience, and for helping me have so much fun!

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Minako awoke the next morning, and found that she had a headache after all. That worried her for a moment, but the headache was so slight, and unnoticeable that she was sure, after a few minutes, that maybe she had just been grinding her teeth in her sleep or something like that. Headaches, she told herself, were not always caused by shadows. Sometimes, they were caused by overeating, which she'd definitely done last night, or by stress, which the events of the day before had left her under. Sometimes, they were even caused by sleeping the wrong way on the bed, or resting her head against a lump in the pillow. There was no reason, she thought, to spend any time worrying about it.

Shinjiro was still asleep in the bed next to her, and Minako rolled over to curl up against his side. She felt him shift against her, and his hand came around to cradle her waist.

"Mmmgble," said Shinjiro, apparently still incoherent and semi-conscious. Minako giggled, grabbed his hand, and kissed two of his fingers before sliding up on top of him and giving him a fluttery, teasing kiss on his slightly parted lips.

That woke him up pretty fast. "Heh," he muttered, "Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning," whispered Minako. Snuggling her body closer to his, she reached up and wrapped both arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his forehead, to his nose, then to his cheek, and running a line of little kisses all the way along his face to his lips. When she eventually got to his mouth, Shinjiro wouldn't let her go for a moment, kissing her deeply, with his morning face scratchy and unshaven against hers.

"Don't you have to get to work?" he asked, after finally and reluctantly breaking away.

Minako shrugged. "Yes," she agreed, "but…not quite. I have a little time."

"Are you sure?" Shinjiro insisted. "You've been going in early for the past few days. Doesn't Dojima-san need you for something?"

"I doubt it," said Minako. "Besides, I put in an extra day on Saturday, didn't I? So I should have some wiggle room."

Shinjiro's arms pressed around Minako, and his lips against her ear murmured, "Hey, that's fine by me, but….just remember, this was your idea."

**Meanwhile, at the Dojima residence…**

Nanako was annoyed, and she was also frustrated that she was annoyed. It was already eight o'clock, and Yu hadn't come down for breakfast yet. That, of course, as she well knew, was totally normal for someone on summer vacation from school. There was no reason why he had to get up for breakfast at the same time that she did, and Dad always said that sometimes, sleeping in could be healthy for a growing child. Nanako wasn't entirely sure that Yu could be considered a child, but if it was healthy for her, then it must be healthy for him, too.

Still, this morning, Nanako had bounced out of bed, eager to finally have the chance to talk to her Big Bro about what she'd seen inside Minako's mind. It didn't seem to her as though anyone else had seen that other dark, lurking thing behind where the horse shadow was, and Nanako had tried so hard to convince herself that she'd imagined it, but…in the end, she was still worried. She was still very worried. What if there was still something there, getting ready to hurt Minako? She felt terrible, knowing that everyone was celebrating while something could still be very wrong. For some reason, she just hadn't had the courage to speak up and mention it, especially in the face of Shinjiro and Yosuke's relief and delight that they'd finally saved Minako, and solved all of her problems. She didn't want to disappoint them or let them down, and so she'd said nothing, and now it was all that she could manage to think about.

Dad came out of his bedroom, already dressed and ready to go to work. He stopped on his way to the kitchen to give Nanako a quick kiss on the top of her head, before gathering up the things that would serve as breakfast, and moving towards the door.

"Dad?" asked Nanako suddenly. "Um…exactly how much sleep is healthy for a growing person?"

Dad looked surprised for a moment, before he glanced around the room, and realization dawned. "Oh, he's not up yet? Good. Don't bother him, Nanako, he needs his rest. Everything lately has been so hectic…I wouldn't mind having the chance to sleep a little bit myself."

After Dad had left, Nanako did her best to do as he'd asked her. She turned on the television, read a book, cleaned up the kitchen, and even called up a few of her friends, all of whom seemed to be busy today. Eventually, despite all of her best efforts, Nanako found herself standing outside the door to Yu's room. She couldn't handle it anymore. She had to talk to someone about this, and he was the only person who could really help her figure out how to tell the others about it.

"Um, Big Bro?" she called, knocking hesitantly on the door. There was no answer. Something strange and eerily familiar about this situation sent an unpleasant, sick feeling down Nanako's back, and she knocked again, this time much louder. "Big Bro? Are you awake?"

To Nanako's intense relief, that time, she heard his voice. "Yes, I'm awake…what's wrong, Nanako?"

"Oh, Big Bro…um…I was just wondering if maybe you wanted some breakfast. Aren't you hungry?" She realized that this was a lame way to start a conversation, but, honestly, he probably was getting hungry up here all be himself. She knew that she was, at least.

"No thank you," said Yu. "You can go ahead and eat without me."

Nanako sighed. "Please," she begged him, dropping the pretenses. "I really have to talk to you about something…something pretty bad. Can I come in? Just for a few minutes?"

She honestly wasn't expecting him to say no. As far as she could remember, he had never said 'no' to her before when she'd asked him for something really important. It was a shock, therefore, when she heard Yu's answer.

"I'm sorry, Nanako," he told her. "I don't think that I feel much like getting out of bed today. I have a terrible headache. We'll have to talk another time."

Nanako just stared at the door. "A…headache?" she asked. "Can I get you some medicine?"

"I'd like to be left alone today," said Yu, and she heard the covers rustle as he turned over in his bed. "I'll play with you again tomorrow."

Walking slowly away from the door, Nanako tried not to be hurt by her cousin's refusal. After all, he was much older than her, and probably wanted some time to himself, just like all adults sometimes did. Still, he'd never rejected her before, not quite like that, in that very abrupt, disinterested sort of way. Was he really going to stay in bed all day? Who did that? Even sick people occasionally had someone bring them food, or had to get up to go to the bathroom.

Nanako walked down the stairs, and picked up the telephone. After dialing a few numbers, she listened for the voice on the other end, and asked, "Yosuke? Um…is it okay for you to talk right now? I'm worried about Big Bro…"

**A few hours later, at the police station…**

Minako hummed along to herself as she made her third trip of the day to the coffee maker. The headache that had begun that morning had completely worn away, and she felt really, truly good and healthy for the first time in at least a week. It was true that she hadn't managed to talk things through with Shinjiro the night before, but if this morning had been any indication, they would, of course, find a way to sort things out eventually. There was nothing in the world, she decided, that she really had to worry about right now.

"You're awfully perky today," came Tohru's voice from the vicinity of the cells. "Did something good happen? Want to share?"

Damn, thought Minako, stopping in her tracks. She had so hoped that after last night and this morning, she wouldn't even flinch when Tohru spoke to her. She honestly had spent most of the morning not even realizing that he was there, until, just now, his voice had reminded her of the brief glimpse of him that she'd gotten the day before. All of those unwelcome, conflicted feelings came seeping back into her mind, and she cursed both herself and him for ruining what really had been turning into a perfectly good day.

"No," she told him, in no uncertain terms. "I don't want to share."

Minako continued along to the coffee maker, and finished making a cup for Dojima. As she crossed back in front of the cell doors, however, Tohru tried again.

"So that was your boyfriend yesterday, right? He's…really tall. I mean. Like a tree. Is that your type? Big, hulking, manly guys like that?"

I am not, Minako told herself, having this conversation. She maintained a stony silence as she turned away from the cells to go over to Dojima's desk.

Tohru's next words, however, were ones that she couldn't possibly ignore. "Or maybe you don't have a type," he sneered. "Maybe you're just like so many other women, just taking whatever you can get your hands on, no matter who it hurts, huh?"

Minako paused. Placing the coffee carefully down on her own desk, she turned around and took three quick, angry strides back towards the cells. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Wipe that injured dignity off your face, huh?" continued Tohru. "I mean, you're the one who did it, not me. You've got this boyfriend that you're living with. You drape yourself all over him in public, like last night, but…a few days ago, you were coming on to me. What does that look like?"

"I cannot believe," managed Minako slowly, "that you, a self-confessed serial killer, of all people, are trying to lecture me on my conduct."

Tohru made a dismissive little sound in his throat. "Then how come you look so guilty about it?" he asked "Honestly, I was starting to think that maybe you were different, that maybe you weren't like all the other women, but…then, last night, I saw the way you acted with him, and I realized. There's nothing special about you. You were willing to betray him without batting an eye, just like the rest of them."

"I do not care," insisted Minako, her temper rising hotly in her chest, "if you think that I'm special or not, and I did not betray him! I don't know what happened at the riverbank, it was…it was an accident, I wasn't thinking about it. Once I realized what was going on, I tried to stop you, remember? I made a mistake, it wasn't something I-!"

"Oh, so it was all my fault, right?" Tohru asked her. "You never came on to me at all; you didn't want anything to do with it."

"I did want to!" shouted Minako. "I still want-!"

She stopped, and a cold bead of sweat swam down her spine as she realized what he'd gotten her to say. That, she knew, had been a terrible mistake. Now it was out there, in the open, and there was no way that she could take it back.

A moment of uncomfortable silence elapsed before either of them spoke again. Minako stood there, rooted to the spot, hoping beyond her wildest ability to hope that Dojima had not overheard the words that she had just said. She wished that she could make Tohru not have heard them either, but that, unfortunately, was out of the question.

She expected Tohru to mock her, to laugh at her, and part of her new that at this moment, she may have deserved it. Instead, when he spoke again, he sounded surprised, and slightly hesitant.

"Why would you say something like that?" he asked. "Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you aren't like the others after all."

Minako turned on her heel and stalked back to her desk, fuming at both Tohru and her own inability to keep control of her temper. Her good mood had vanished, and she delivered the coffee to Dojima's desk before sitting down again at her own, and taking a few deep, calming breaths to try and find those positive feelings again.

She almost didn't hear it when the phone began to ring, and barely picked it up in time. "Hello?" she answered. "This is the Inaba Police Department."

"Hey, Minako?" asked Yosuke's harried voice on the other end of the line. "Can you get away right now? I think we have to have a meeting."


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Author's Note: **So, a few weeks ago, I revealed to my boyfriend of five years (he goes by "Dagget" online) that I had, perhaps, maybe, written a fanfiction story or two. He responded by buying me a Nanako keychain and expressing his lack of concern.

Well, recently we decided that he's going to move in with me this summer. Under those circumstances, I felt that it was necessary to divulge the full truth.

"Dag," I told him today, "I did not just write one fanfiction. I did not just write two. I have written…over 100,000 words of fanfiction in the last two months. I may have an addiction. Do you still love me?"

He responded by saying, "I just spent the last two hours trying to figure out if there was a way to create a game of Risk in the land of Oz. You couldn't out-nerd me if you tried, Ari."

…What is "Risk?"

I think we are going to survive this.

In other, and more relevant news, I owe a very big thank you to **Meia42**, for taking the time to talk with me and to help me sort out my future plans for this story. This story is quickly drawing to a nasty little cliffhanger ending, and I'll soon be ready to announce the next direction in which this series will be going. Actually, thanks to everyone who is willing to talk to me about my stories. It's such a treat and I know you are all busy people.

And now, a chapter.

**Chapter Twenty Three**

"Is everybody here?" asked Yosuke, hanging up his phone and staring back into the many pairs of eyes around the table in the food court.

"Is Minako coming?" asked Yukiko.

Yosuke shook his head. "She's alone at the desk, she can't leave. I told her to get over here as soon as she can, though."

"Why?" Kanji shrugged. "It's not like there's much she can do to help, right? Not with her being all blind and stuff."As so often happened, multiple pairs of feminine eyes glared daggers in Kanji's direction. He blinked. "What? What'd I say this time?"

"Thoughtless comments like that," Naoto informed him, "are probably exactly the reason that Minako has been placed under so much stress lately."

"Yeah," agreed Kanji sarcastically. "Yeah, that, and also the shadows that are eating her brain. Seriously? How is this my fault?"

Yosuke noticed that, when Naoto mentioned Minako being "under a lot of stress," Rise, Yukiko and Chie all shared a significant look. He had absolutely no idea what that meant, but it was obvious that, as usual, they knew something about the situation that he didn't. Girls always seemed to know things. He decided to let it go.

"Anyway," he continued, interrupting Kanji and Naoto's argument before it could escalate into anything worse, "We can't wait for her. There wasn't anything in there the last time that we checked, but…we can't take any risks. If Yu's acting weird, then we have to check it out, and we don't want to wait for it to get as bad as it did with Minako."

Rise, Yukiko, and Chie glanced over at Shinjiro, then at each other, and then began whispering amongst themselves. Shinjiro, who was brooding in a corner with Junpei, apparently didn't notice. What the hell, wondered Yosuke, was going on?

"In that case," asked Naoto, "Shall we discuss who will go? Surely having all of us parade into the Velvet Room, purely on a mission of reconnaissance would be slightly excessive. Nanako, as the wild card, will have to go, of course, and you, Yosuke, should probably chaperone her."

"I don't need a 'chaperone,'" muttered Nanako, although her usual spirit wasn't in it. She was slumped over in a chair next to Teddie, fidgeting with the skirt of her jumper and biting her lip. Worrying about her cousin, Yosuke knew, was keeping her too preoccupied to be worried about much else, at the moment.

"Oooh, pick Teddie!" Teddie's hand shot up into the air, and he waved it around enthusiastically. "Nana-chan, I'll be your knight in shining armor!"

"I, too, should like to see this new power of yours that Yosuke told us about," murmured Naoto. "That is, if it is all right with you, Nanako-chan."

Yosuke glanced around the food court, and saw no objections. "Okay, then," he announced. "It's settled. Me, Nanako, Teddie, and Naoto will go this time. Rise, you come too. If we find anything really big in there, we'll come back and rework our battle strategy. Everybody, be on standby, okay? Hopefully this won't get ugly, but, if it does…"

Nanako, however, was already up and running towards the electronics department. Before Yosuke had a chance to finish his sentence, Teddie got up to follow her. Glancing apologetically at him, Naoto shrugged, stood up as gracefully as she always did, and joined the other two.

Yosuke sighed. He had to hand it to Yu. Being a leader was definitely not as easy as he had once made it look.

As always, the team made its way into the store, through the television, and eventually towards the Velvet Room. Igor and his three assistants were waiting for them, as usual, but this time something was very wrong. Instead of sitting serenely in their assigned chairs, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Theodore were all kneeling in various places around the floor, each of them leaning intently over what looked from where Yosuke was standing like a large pad of paper. The walls of the Velvet Room, usually so artistically and elegantly bare, were now covered with pristinely colorful images that seemed to have been neatly torn from the pages of a book.

"Oh!" said Nanako, smiling for the first time since she'd called Yosuke about Yu's strange behavior. "You're using the coloring books! Do you like them?"

Yosuke blinked. What coloring books? He didn't remember anything about coloring books. Still, now that he knew what to look for, he realized that the pads of paper in each of the assistants' hands were, indeed, coloring books with big beautiful images of nature scenes and butterflies.

"These are fascinating artistic tools," murmured Theodore, still too intent on his coloring to look up at the newcomers. "They foster a collaborative expression between two people; one a line artist, the other a color artist. Truly remarkable."

"Yeah," agreed Nanako, "they're pretty. I got a lot of them for Christmas last year, but I don't like to use coloring books. I draw all my own pictures! I'm really glad you're having fun with them."

Yosuke's head spun. Something about this image was just plain weird.

With a polite but commanding little cough, Igor marshaled his assistants to attention, and they all, in perfectly disturbing unison, closed their books, stood up, and regained their seats.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," murmured Elizabeth. "How can we help you today?"

"I want to see my Big Bro's room," said Nanako, without a moment's hesitation. "I think something's wrong. There might be another squid. We have to check."

The attendants all nodded at each other, and apparently reached an agreement, because a moment later Margaret stood up and gestured the team to accompany her through the nightmare door. As he passed through the door, Yosuke could see out of the corner of his eye that Theodore and Elizabeth were reaching again for their coloring books, and beginning to retake their places on the floor.

"Coloring books?" asked Yosuke. "Seriously?"

Nanako was unperturbed. "They looked bored," she explained. "So, I helped!"

As it turned out, the nightmare room was empty, and the paths to the Izanagi and Izanagi-No-Okami doors were totally clear. Yosuke had almost allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief, before Rise, having already summoned Kouzeon, interrupted him.

"There's something there," she told the team. "Behind Yu's door. It's…" frowning, she paused uncertainly. "I'm sure it's something, but…it doesn't feel as though it's hostile to us. It's not very big or very strong, either, and it has a ton of weaknesses. This…should be easy?." Despite her words, Rise sounded doubtful and confused.

"But," insisted Yosuke, "it's definitely a shadow, right?"

Rise nodded. "I'm pretty sure. I mean, I don't know what else it could be. Just be careful, okay? Something doesn't feel right."

Teddie just shrugged, and then swaggered with exaggerated nonchalance right up to the door. "There's nothing to worry about, Rise-chan," he assured her glibly. "We've got Nanako with us now! She has powers even Igor's never seen before! This will be a piece of cake for super Nana-chan."

"Um," objected Nanako quietly. "Teddie, that's-!"

Teddie, however, had already pulled the door open. Yosuke felt himself tense, expecting to see some horrible, lurking, looming creature waiting just beyond the threshold. Instead, for a moment, it looked as though the room was empty after all.

"Hey, Rise," he began. "I thought you said that-!"

"Ooh! Look!" Nanako pointed at a dark spot in the corner of the room. "Look! It's a bunny! That's a bunny, isn't it?"

Yosuke peered hard at the spot where Nanako was pointing, and soon realized that, yes, there was the shadow of a rabbit, so small and bleakly colored that it blended into the shades and patterns of the darkness behind it. For all of its innocent shape, however, the rabbit had glowing yellow eyes, shadow eyes that made Yosuke reach instinctively into his pocket for his persona card.

"No!" insisted Nanako. "It doesn't look like it wants to hurt us. You don't need to attack it."

Frowning, Naoto shook her head at Nanako. "A rabbit," she murmured reflectively. "The symbol of fear and skittish uncertainty. With something like that couched inside his mind, even our own fearless Yu Narukami would find his harrowing life difficult to face. We can't allow it to remain here, even it does, apparently mean us no harm."

"But," mumbled Nanako helplessly, "It's so cute…"

Yosuke had to admit to himself that he couldn't think of the rabbit as "cute." The idea of a shadow being "cute" was something that, even now, he had trouble wrapping his mind around. Sure, Teddie was technically a shadow, and there were times, maybe, when Teddie might almost be considered "cute," but Yosuke could never really lump Teddie in with all the other shadows he had faced. Teddie was more human now than some of the people Yosuke knew who had been born human to begin with. At least, he had all the most annoying qualities of a real live human being.

"Sorry, Nanako," he muttered. Summoning Takahaya Susano-o, he leveled a blast of wind at the shadow that should have swept it instantly off of its feet. Instead, and not entirely unexpectedly, the shadow rabbit simply dodged nimbly to one side, and then continued to stare up at Yosuke out of its hunted yellow eyes.

"Wow," said Teddie. "It's fast! I bet Nao-chan can get it, though! She's the fastest draw in the East!"

Dutifully, Naoto drew her gun and fired a series of quick, precise rounds at the rabbit. Apparently without much effort, the rabbit ducked, dodged, and leapt over every bullet.

The next few moments were spent in a blur of frustrating, rejected assaults on the shadow rabbit. Naoto, who even Yosuke had to admit was probably one of the strongest and most combat-savvy members of the team seemed unable to strike the shadow rabbit with a single one of her many magnificent attacks. Yosuke attempted to silence the shadow, and then stop it in its tracks, but was unable to find a single item or spell that the rabbit could not easily avoid.

"Okay," panted Yosuke finally, "How about this. If it's dodging all of our attacks, then we have to cut it off so that it has nowhere to run, right? Let's all attack it at once, only from different sides. Naoto, you go left, and Teddie, you go right. I'll come around from the back, and that leaves Nanako to go at it head on."

"Very clever," murmured Naoto approvingly.

"Ooh, yeah, good idea," agreed Teddie.

Nanako, on the other hand, said nothing at all. She was busy staring at the shadow rabbit, with a very confused and frustrated look on her face.

"Nanako-chan?" asked Yosuke. "Hey, are you okay? Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh huh," said Nanako slowly. "Yeah, but…but…I don't want to."

Yosuke stared at her. "You don't want to what?" he asked.

"I don't want to hurt it." Nanako was still biting her lip, but she had that same, fierce, defiant look on her face that Yosuke had begun to recognize as a combination of her inner spirit, and Minako's recent influence. "It's not going to hurt us, see? The bunny's scared; it just wants to run away."

"If we don't kill it," insisted Yosuke slowly, doing his best not to let his impatience show, "then your Big Bro is going to start having really bad headaches all the time, just like Minako did. Then he might have start having bad thoughts, and doing some really, really bad things. You understand that, right?"

"No," muttered Nanako. "I don't understand. Theodore said that all of the bad things that people do are things that they really wanted to do. Even if there are shadows inside, people do the same things that they wanted to do anyway. Big Bro doesn't want to do anything bad things. He's a good person, I know he is! So I think you're wrong. Maybe the shadows won't hurt him. Maybe if we leave this one alone, it will run away."

Yosuke took a deep breath. He glanced over Naoto, who couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to look alarmed or impressed by Nanako's reasoning. Teddie walked over and gave Nanako's hand a comforting little squeeze.

"Let's just get it over with," he told her. "For Sensei, okay?"

Nanako glared up at him. "No," she said stubbornly. "It's wrong. I can't."

Yosuke was at a complete loss. How was he supposed to explain to his partner's little cousin that, sometimes, killing was okay?


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Author's Note: **The last segment that I wrote ended up expanding into two chapters, because I wrote too much for just one, so TA-DA! Surprise double update!

As we continue to build towards the dramatic finale, I figure we need a couple of moments of relaxation in the midst of what is about to erupt into chaos. Many of you who answered my poll are going to love what happens at the end of this chapter… Thanks for reading!

**Chapter Twenty Four**

A soon as Dojima came back from lunch, Minako begged him for an hour off. At first, she planned to call Yosuke and to join him at the food court, but he didn't pick up when she called, and Minako could only assume that he was already inside the Velvet Room. Even if she did head over to join him, she knew, there probably wasn't a great deal that she'd be able to do, other than sit around and wait for him and the other members of his team to come and give her the good news.

Instead of going to the food court, therefore, Minako took the bus over to the Dojima residence. There was nobody home when she knocked, and she ended up having to use the key that Dojima had given her the day that he'd somehow managed to forget his badge on the kitchen counter. He'd never remembered to take the key back, and although she'd been meaning to return it to him, she was glad that she had it now.

"Yu?" she called, making her way up towards his bedroom. "Hey, Yu? It's Minako. Yosuke called me. He's worried about you. Nanako-chan's worried, too. Actually, we're all worried."

"I'm fine," muttered Yu. "It's nothing."

"Yeah? Well, okay. That's good to know." Minako leaned herself up against the bedroom door. "Can I come in? Maybe we can talk about what's bothering you."

"It's complicated," Yu informed her. "You wouldn't get it."

"Really?" persisted Minako. "Are you sure? Because, honestly, I think I might."

There was a long pause, and then, to Minako's relief, she thought she heard Yu laugh.

"Maybe you would," he admitted. "Okay. Yeah, you can come in. I mean, I'm in bed, but-!"

"And I'm blind," Minako reminded him, pushing open the door. "You don't have to get up and get dressed on my account."

She had been in Yu's room once before, at the beginning, when he'd first been getting used to life in the chair. Minako, Junpei, and Shinjiro had all worked together to help propel the chair up the stairs into his room, before Dojima had decided to have the ramp installed. She hadn't seen it then, and she didn't see it now, so honestly she couldn't have said whether or not he was a clean person, a messy person, or even the sort of person who hung pictures of naked porn stars all over his bedroom walls. Although she'd never been into Yosuke's room, Minako knew from talking to Teddie that Yosuke, at least, was the kind of guy who had porn under the bed.

"I'm sorry I'm making everyone worry," mumbled Yu. "I'm supposed to be this great leader, and here I am lying around and feeling sorry for myself. Some leader, huh?"

Sidestepping the question, Minako asked him, "how's your head?"

Yu sighed. "it hurts," he admitted. "A lot."

Locating the bed frame with her foot, Minako sat down on the edge of it. "Well," she said conversationally, "then it's probably the shadows messing with your head, so nobody can get mad at you for making us worry, or for moping around in your room. You get a free pass. See? All fixed."

Again, Yu laughed. "Yeah," he replied, "but you didn't lie around and feel sorry for yourself when the shadows attacked you. You were out there trying to get back into the Velvet Room, and to find a way to start fighting again. I admire that about you. You didn't let the shadows win."

"I started a make-out session with a convicted murderer," retorted Minako bluntly. She hadn't intended to tell him, or planned to tell him, but somehow, Minako realized, she didn't mind Yu knowing about it. If anyone wasn't going to judge her for it, then it was probably him. "I had trouble with the shadows, too. Just a different kind of trouble."

"You…with Adachi?" Yu sounded slightly stunned. "Did he hurt you?"

Minako shrugged. "No," she said. "I think he wanted to, though."

Yu seemed to need a moment to mull over that one. "But he didn't, in the end," he murmured finally, apparently more to himself than to Minako. "That's good. Sometimes I sit around and wonder what my life would have been like if Izanami had never gotten involved. I bet he does the same thing, a lot. We have…a lot in common, he and I. We're the same."

Minako remembered Tohru saying something very similar to her that first night that she'd gone with him to the river. "But you aren't," she insisted. "You used your power to make wonderful friends, to overcome things, to save the world! He started killing anyone he felt like, just because he could. How can you say that the two of you are the same? You couldn't be more different!"

"I think," said Yu thoughtfully, "that the only difference is that I used my power, and his power used him. Does that make sense? He couldn't control it, and it overwhelmed him. It was too much for him to handle all at once, and something inside of him broke. He couldn't face the darker parts of himself, and so he became them. I just…"

"You just managed to be the stronger person," interrupted Minako. "You just had more strength of character, more resolve. You overcame things that he couldn't, and for that, your friends love you, and are proud of you. His weakness has nothing to do with you. You're nothing like him. He's a coward."

"So am I," murmured Yu. "I'm afraid of what I could become. I'm afraid of what Theodore told us, about those persona users who have never faced themselves being too weak or too incapable to handle their own minds. I'm afraid that might happen to me someday."

Minako thought back to that night, when she, Yosuke, Nanako, and Yu had all gone in together to the TV, to talk with Theodore about the real consequences of having shadows inside their minds. At the time, she'd been far more focused on the idea that the shadows only exacerbated the wishes that people already had, but now that she thought about it, she did remember him saying something about persona users, like Yu, who hadn't awakened properly to their own powers. Yu had been pretty upset about it, too, at the time. He'd asked a lot of questions that had surprised Yosuke and Nanako. How had she managed to forget? Not for the first time, Minako cursed herself for being too self centered to see this coming. Of course he was frightened. Who wouldn't be? If it had been her in Yu's shoes, she'd be terrified too.

"Aah!" exclaimed Yu, and Minako felt him slump forward against her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What's happening? Is it your head?"

Apparently unable to say anything through the pain, Yu nodded. Minako shifted around to let him rest his head more comfortably against her shoulder. "I don't think you have to worry," she told him. "You're a better person than you give yourself credit for. The shadows aren't messing with you because you're too weak. They're inside your head because you and I made a choice." Reflecting on that for a moment, she frowned, and corrected herself. "Well, no, that's not fair. You never made a choice. Yosuke and I made it for you. It wasn't…it shouldn't have been you in the first place."

"We agreed," managed Yu, around pain and gritted teeth, "not to look back. I'm not…sorry."

Minako, a little bit relieved to hear him say that, smiled. "See?" she said. "I wasn't wrong. You are a good person after all. Most people would resent it. I mean…even I resent it, a little."

From the floor below, Minako could suddenly hear movement and the faint echo of voices. The others, she thought, must be back from the Velvet Room. Judging by the fact that Yu's headache seemed to be getting worse, the news couldn't be good.

"We're up here!" she called, as loudly as she could manage without deafening the man whose face was pressed against her shoulder.

Two sets of hurried footsteps made their way up the ramp, and the door came creaking open. "Whoa," said Yosuke. "Um, Minako? What are you doing here? I mean, you're sort of…in Yu's bed with him right now."

"Crap, Yosuke," mumbled Yu. "This is not what it looks like…"

Minako did her best to glare in Yosuke's direction. Why should he care where she was or wasn't? Besides, it didn't "look like" anything. It wasn't as though she and Yu didn't have their clothes on.

"We need some painkillers," she said pointedly.

"Oh! Okay! I'll be right back!" said Nanako, and Minako heard the girl's footsteps heading back down towards the kitchen.

"What did you find in the Velvet Room?" Minako asked. "Was there a shadow?"

Yosuke paused for a moment. "Yeah," he said finally. "There was. It's just….uh…well, it's not exactly what you think."

Minako listened as Yosuke described the events that had taken place in the Velvet Room. When he mentioned Naoto's interpretation of the rabbit shadow as representing fear, she felt Yu shift uncomfortably on the bed next to her.

"So, I guess what we need to do," he finished, "is to leave Nanako behind next time, and bring one of the other guys. Then maybe we can head it off from four sides and get rid of it."

"But," asked Minako, "what if that doesn't work? If you can't catch it by trapping it, and you can't find any attacks that it won't dodge, how are you going to kill it?"

Yosuke sighed. "I…have no idea," he admitted. "We'll handle that when we get to it, okay?"

Nanako, who had returned with the painkillers while Yosuke was talking, spoke up for the first time. "Sorry, Big Bro," she muttered sadly. "I guess I'm not very good at helping after all."

"No, Nanako," said Yu, "you're not wrong. It's not right to take the life of something else for no reason. You did the right thing."

"But, your headache…" began Nanako.

Minako could tell that she and Yosuke weren't needed her anymore. By unspoken agreement, the two of them left the room and headed back down into the kitchen.

"Hey, um," said Yosuke, as Minako put on her jacket. "You never answered my question. Why were you and Yu in bed together?"

"Because," sighed Minako, "I wanted to talk to him, and he was in bed when I got here, so I went up to his room and convinced him to let me in. I wanted to know what was bothering him. The rest of you were off fighting the shadows, so I figured that he could use someone to talk to, maybe someone who's been through something similar."

Yosuke seemed satisfied with that. "Oh, yeah," he said. "Right. That makes sense." After a moment's hesitation he added, somewhat irrelevantly, "Did you know that Rise has a thing for Junpei?"

Minako stopped. Very carefully, trying not to give herself away, she murmured, "I…had no idea. Why do you say that?"

"Because," continued Yosuke, "she told me that she's gonna ask him to get dinner with her tonight. You know, to blow off steam after the Velvet Room? Anyway, she said that she was going to ask you and Shinjiro-san to go along, to make it a double date, so I figured maybe you knew already."

Oh, thought Minako, with a slight pang of guilt for forgetting all about Rise's request. "Unfortunately," she said, "Shinji's working tonight. He picked up a job as the night guard at the police station and with Adachi in lock-up, they're being extra careful now. I don't think he'll be able to go."

"Aw, man. Rise's gonna be really disappointed," said Yosuke. "She was dead set on having this be a double. She kept going on about how a double date made it more casual and low key, which would make more sense after a day in the Velvet Room…I mean, she's really thought this through. It's kind of creepy. Is that what girls usually do, when it comes to dating?"

Yes, thought Minako. "I don't really know," she said instead. "Honestly, I know what it looks like, but I never did too much dating. I was, you know, dead for three years."

"Uh, right." Yosuke sounded suddenly awkward. "Yeah, I forgot about that."

Minako was disappointed that Rise had chosen this particular night for her date. Honestly, when she really thought about it, she knew that Junpei could probably use a little bit attention, something he really hadn't gotten from a woman since Chidori's car accident. He deserved to know that there were women out there who might be interested in him, and if the date went well, and it got him interested, then all the better for both of them. Minako hoped it would go well. She wanted to see at least someone around here being happy, for once, and Junpei was at the top of her list. If a double date would make it easier on both of them, then Minako wanted to give them that double date.

"You and I should go," she said to Yosuke.

His reaction to that was…unexpected, to say the least.

"Wha-?" he stammered. "Wait, no, I couldn't…I mean, really? You want me to? I don't remember the last time I…but, wouldn't that be kinda weird? I mean, are you actually asking me on a-?"

"No, of course not," said Minako, shaking her head. "We're partners, remember? I just figure that if it's a casual thing, like Rise said, then it doesn't really matter which friends she brings, right? We'd just be there to help her break the ice with Junpei."

"Oh." Yosuke sounded confused, relieved, and deflated at the same time. Minako wondered if he'd been overdoing it in the Velvet Room again. "Yeah. Phew. That makes sense."

"So, you'll come?" asked Minako.

Yosuke had to think about it for a moment. "Uh, sure. It...will be fun."

"Great," said Minako. "Okay, I'll tell Rise."


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Author's Note: **And now, an awkward first date. Be warned, this marks the last chapter before things start spiraling out of control. Be prepared for some relationships to end, some people to change drastically, and some hard decisions to get made. Everyone will walk away alive, but not necessarily in the same form they had when they went in.

I'd like to go ahead and tease you by telling you that, at some point later in this series, Yosuke is going to get a real love interest all of his own. I will make this horrible date up to him someday soon, I promise.

By the way, I just read this beautiful piece called **Confessions** by **Jenni Saba**.I think only the first chapter is up so far, but for those of you who are, like me Junpei fans, it's worth a read! Go check it out if you have a chance!

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Minako hurried home as soon as she got off work, to make sure that she had time to get dressed for her big "date." After pawing through several drawers full of clothing that she never wore, she decided that it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to try wearing one of the outfits that the other girls had picked out for her a few days ago at Croco Fur. True, she had no idea what any of the clothes actually looked like, if they flattered her, or even if they'd match her shoes, but Minako figured that it didn't really matter. After all, as Junpei had taught her, the first rule of being the best wingman was making your friend look really good. If Minako's outfit ended up making her look stupid, that would only make Rise look more poised and put together, and therefore she'd be able to consider the mission successfully accomplished.

Yosuke picked her up in his car, just after 7:00. "So, be honest," Minako insisted, as he helped her into the passenger seat. "How stupid do I look right now?"

"Um," muttered Yosuke. "Do those…colors really go together? I mean, not that I know a lot of stuff about clothes, or anything, but…"

"But," sighed Minako, "you do work a giant department store, so you know what people are wearing these days. Yeah, you're probably right. I was worried this might happen..."

"But, you look great!" added Yosuke hurriedly. "I didn't mean that you look bad…I mean, you never look bad. You just look…different. Different in a good way. Oh, man, I haven't dated in a while…"

Minako laughed. "Good thing this isn't a real date, then, right?"

"Uh, right," mumbled Yosuke. "Yeah, good thing, huh?"

As they drove together into Okina City, Minako couldn't help but think about the last time someone had referred to her as being "different in a good way." Tohru had used almost those same words not long after he'd tried to scare her away, that second time they'd met at the riverbank. Idly, she wondered what would have happened if Tohru had ever had the chance to ask her out on that date. What would it have been like to date him, and where would they have gone? Somewhere fancy, she thought, and probably in the city. After all, he had said that Inaba was a boring place to be.

"Hey, Minako?" asked Yosuke. "Uh, you're awfully quiet. I didn't mean to make you mad. Really, I think the skirt looks cute on you. Actually, I'm pretty sure Yukiko has one just like that, and it looks better on you. Don't…don't' tell her I said that. Please."

"You're very sweet, Yosuke, thank you," murmured Minako. Inwardly, she reminded herself that she was not allowed to be having these thoughts. It didn't matter what Tohru would have done. After all, even if he had managed to take her out, there was no reason to believe that he wouldn't have murdered her in a peevish rage after deciding he didn't' care for the main course.

At least, that was what everyone seemed to believe, and what they wanted for Minako to believe, but…she just couldn't picture it. Yu had told her that he and Tohru were essentially the same, but Minako couldn't picture that, either. There were a lot of very confusing, conflicting feelings going on in her head, none of them particularly sensible or grounded. Not of course, she reminded herself firmly, that it mattered. She had someone in her life. She was in the process of very carefully and meticulously getting over an alarming and unfortunate fascination with another man, and, right now, she was supposed to be focusing on being the best wingman for her best friend Junpei.

"So," she asked Yosuke, attempting to find her way back into the conversation. "When exactly was the last time you dated?"

"Well…" Yosuke sounded slightly embarrassed. "Actually, I think it was in middle school, maybe."

"Really?" asked Minako. "But you're a good looking guy. I would have thought the girls would be all over you."

"W-well, thanks," said Yosuke, in some surprise. "I don't know about that. I haven't really tried to date much since Saki-senpai died. I guess it would feel disloyal, somehow? Uh, that probably doesn't make sense…"

I, thought Minako, am a horrible human being. Junpei, who had once loved Chidori, was now dating for the first time in years after her death. Yosuke, who had cared deeply about his dead former senpai, was also still mourning her memory, and keeping himself single. Minako, on the other hand, actually had someone wonderful in her life, and yet she was wasting time fantasizing about other people.

"I think she'd probably want you to find someone else," Minako informed him. "If she cared about you, then she'd want you to be happy, wouldn't she?"

"She…didn't actually 'care about me' all that much," Yosuke said. " I think she thought I was pretty annoying. It's complicated. Oh, hey, is that it? I think we're here."

They had pulled up in front of the sandwich shop that had only recently become a thriving piece of Okina City's tourist appeal. Because it was so new, Minako had been afraid that they wouldn't be able to get in on such short notice, but she now saw that she shouldn't have been worried. Judging by the total silence all around them, Minako realized that there was not a single other person in the shop, and belatedly remembered that Rise had enough status and popularity to get private arrangements at just about any restaurant she wanted.

"Casual, huh?" asked Minako, as she and Yosuke got out of the car. "Did she actually rent the whole place?"

"It's not like that," insisted Yosuke."She probably didn't have a choice. When she goes into a restaurant, everyone comes in just to stand around and stare, or to ask for autographs. She wouldn't be able to eat here if she didn't clear it out first. Being a celebrity can be tough, I guess."

"I guess," agreed Minako. "Still, this is going to make it…awkward."

Rise and Junpei didn't appear to have arrived yet, so Minako waited while Yosuke explained that they were friends of hers, and managed to procure them a table. As they sat and waited for the couple to arrive, Minako frowned over the table top at Yosuke.

"For the record," she told him, "I think your Saki-senpai was missing out. I know it's wrong to speak ill of the dead, but, it doesn't sound like she knew how good you would have been to her. That's a shame. I don't think you're annoying."

For some reason, Yosuke didn't say anything. Minako hoped she hadn't offended him by criticizing the memory of the woman he'd loved.

She heard the door open behind him, and then a pair of heels came clicking into the room, followed by Junpei's familiar, almost sloppily casual step. "Hey, guys!" Rise called to them. "Wow, you beat us? No fair! Did you order already?"

Minako assured her that they hadn't, and everyone sat around at the table for a moment, mulling over the menus. Minako, who usually picked generic, easy things that any kitchen could make, sat back and waited, until Junpei suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, Mina-tan, you don't know what's on the menu. Hang on, I'll read it to you."

"I can do that," said Yosuke quickly, and before Minako had a chance to protest, he was reading out loud the entire list of sides, soups, and sandwiches available for purchase. Minako felt that she had to make a decision now that Yosuke had gone to all of the trouble, and selected a salad wrap and a glass of lemonade.

"Thanks, Yosuke," she said. "Sorry to make you do that. I bet you don't even know what you're going to order, yet. See? You're a great date."

She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, but for some reason, he didn't laugh.

"So," asked Junpei, a little bit too loudly. Minako wondered if he was nervous, for a change. "Um, Hey, Yosuke, any ideas about what's next for the Velvet Room? Figured out how to defeat that rabbit shadow yet?"

"I think so," replied Yosuke, sounding relieved. "My original plan could still work. We can still try to cut it off from four sides and kill it that way. This time, we just need a fourth person who will actually do something useful…"

"Aw, don't be too hard on Nanako, man," insisted Junpei. "She's just a kid, after all. I mean, getting her involved in all of this was crazy in the first place."

Minako heard Yosuke's hand come down hard on the table. "That's a funny thing for you to say, after what happened last year," he reminded Junpei pointedly.

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence, during which Rise and Minako apparently reached the same, simultaneous conclusion.

"Let's not talk about The Velvet Room," began Minako. "After all, aren't we here to relax?"

At the same instant, she heard Rise saying, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's talk about something else, okay?"

"Sure, whatever," muttered Junpei, and Minako breathed out a little sigh of relief. "What do you wanna talk about?"

Rise hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "How about," she said finally, "if I ask you some questions? Let's start with this one. What kind of girl do you like?"

Next to Minako, Yosuke spluttered something unintelligible, and just picturing the look on Junpei's face made it hard for Minako not to laugh out loud. She'd known, of course, that Rise was a very bold girl, but that question was so forward that it took her completely by surprise.

Junpei, apparently also surprised, said, "Uh…"

"Yeah, Junpei," added Minako, feeling that it was perhaps time for her to step up her "wingman" game on Rise's behalf. "I'm curious too. Tell us. What kind of girls do you like?"

"Wait, what…you too?" Junpei sounded betrayed. "Dude, Minako, you know what kind of girls I like. I like, uh…I don't' know, cute girls?"

Good start, thought Minako. Out loud, she said, "Come on, is that all we get? If you could describe the perfect girlfriend, what would she be like?"

Apparently, Junpei had to think about that for a moment. "I…" he muttered eventually, "I think she'd have to be a gentle kind of girl, you know? I like people who need my help sometimes. But, you know, not totally helpless. She's gotta kick a little bit of ass, otherwise she's boring. She has to stand up for things, too, like, she has to know what's important to her. Um…and I like redheads, I guess. Is that enough? Are you guys happy now?"

"Yep!" agreed Rise, who, possibly because of her hair color, now sounded like a very happy girl. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Minako, on the other hand, wasn't exactly "happy." Junpei, she realized, had just described Chidori. There was no way that he'd be able to move on if he was still caught up thinking about her every time someone asked him about dating or girls. Under the table, she gave him a gentle but pointed little kick.

"Huh? What?" asked Junpei.

Minako said nothing, but gave him her best attempt at a very significant look.

Then, Rise asked the unexpected question that caught both Minako and probably Yosuke totally off guard. "What about you, Yosuke? What kind of girls do you like?"

Luckily, before Yosuke had a chance to answer, the waiter arrived with the food. There were a few peaceful moments spent munching and tasting, before Rise, unperturbed by the interruption, repeated her question. "I asked you, Yosuke, what kinds of girls are your favorites? Come on, it's only fair that you have to answer, since Junpei already did."

"I don't see how that's fair…" mumbled Yosuke.

"Come on," insisted Rise cajolingly. "I'm sure Minako would like to know. Wouldn't you , Minako?"

Now it was Minako's turn to say "Um…"

Junpei stepped in, apparently on Minako's behalf. "Oh," he announced, "Minako's not picky. I mean, she's dated all different kinds of guys. First there was Akihiko-san, in high school, and now it's Shinjiro-san, right? And even though they're both pretty manly, they're totally different when you get to know them. Didn't you and that asshole Hidetoshi havea thing in high school, too? And I'm pretty sure that even Theodore once had a crush on her. I'm not sure what type of guy she'll go for next, but I bet he'll be a-!"

"Junpei!" exclaimed Minako in shock. "Why would you go and tell them all of that? You're making me sound like some kind of…some kind of prostitute or something!"

"Whoa! What? No, that's totally not what I meant!" Junpei sounded genuinely confused. "I mean, I was just saying that you haven't really picked out a type, yet. You're still in high school, right? I'm still young, too. It's not like either of us have to pick someone to spend the rest of our lives with. We're supposed to be playing the field, having experiences, learning things! That's all I meant."

Yet Junpei, thought Minako, had been more than ready to spend the rest of his life with Chidori. Maybe that disappointment had changed his mind about the way romance worked. After losing her, it might not be a bad idea, she reasoned, for him to spend some time "playing the field," as he put it.

She half expected Rise to be upset about that, but instead, Rise sounded relieved. "Oh my gosh," she insisted, "I totally agree with you. Wasn't I just saying that same thing to you the other day, Minako-chan?"

"Please," begged Minako, "let's…let's just eat."

They finished the meal in companionable spirits, and managed to steer clear of any topics that further embarrassed or shamed either Minako or Yosuke. After paying the bill, which, through Rise's influence, was much smaller than it would normally have been, they all walked out together towards their cars.

"Hey," said Junpei, pulling Minako aside to whisper too loudly into her ear. "Are you seriously that dense? Didn't you see the way that he was looking at you?"

Minako frowned. "The way that who was looking at me? Yosuke? Yeah, maybe you freaked him out when you started talking about how I might as well be a hooker."

"Oh wow," replied Junpei. "Seriously, wow, you are…almost embarrassingly bad at this game. Even worse than I am. Jeez."

With that cryptic remark still hanging in the air, Junpei and Rise said goodbye, got back into their car, and drove away.

"I think that went well," said Minako, as she climbed back into the passenger seat of Yosuke's car. "I mean, Rise seemed happy, and she and Junpei had a lot to talk about. I really hope it works out. Do you think next time he should ask her out on a date?"

Yosuke sounded tired as he turned on the car and checked his seatbelt. "I think," he told her, pulling out onto the road, "that I'm ready to go home."


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Author's Note: **It is going to be a late night as I attempt to finish this twelve-hour audiobook that I am listening to in order to write a paper for class.

While I listen, I shall type up a chapter from my notebook.

It may be necessary to note that the song "Up All Night" was playing on the radio when I wrote this, which is possibly the reason that everyone in this chapter seems to be exhausted. Or maybe I'm just projecting. Both seem reasonable.

**Chapter Twenty Six**

After the date, Yosuke dropped Minako off outside the police station. Although she was technically supposed to have the evening off, Minako went because she knew she'd find Shinjiro there, working the night shift. She had ended up doing a lot of thinking over the last few hours, about boyfriends, dating, love, and what it meant to be young and unattached. She had also, very much against her conscious will, done far too much thinking about Tohru.

Right now, what she really wanted was to think about Shinjiro. Surely, if she could only spend some time with him like she used to, things would start to come together and make sense again in her head.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked in surprise, as she came towards him through the darkened station, guided by the light of the flashlight Dojima had issued him. "I thought you were out with Junpei."

"I was," Minako assured him. "Yosuke just dropped me off."

Shinjiro grumbled a bit at that. "Don't see why you couldn't have waited for a night when I wasn't working," he muttered. "You didn't have to go with Yosuke. I would have taken you."

Minako sighed. "It wasn't about me this time, Shinji, it was about Junpei and Rise. I was just along to…you know, to add ambience, I guess? Anyway, you know perfectly well that there's nothing going on between Yosuke and me, so don't get all bent out of shape about it."

"Yeah," mumbled Shinjiro. "Fine."

Ever since she'd come into the room, Minako had been vaguely aware of the faint sounds of movement coming from somewhere behind Shinjiro's back. She could only assume that she was hearing Tohru shifting around in his cell.

For some reason, as soon as she realized this, Minako's head started to hurt again. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when the shadows were attacking her, but the ache was still pretty bad for just a stress headache. Maybe, she thought, she wasn't getting enough sleep these days…

"Shinji?" she asked. "When are you getting home tonight? I know you have to work late, but I don't mind waiting up, if you want me to."

"Nah," said Shinjiro. "Don't worry about it. They have me here until three in the morning. You sleep. You probably need it."

He gave her a quick little kiss on the forehead, probably expressing his gratitude over her offer to wait for him. Minako leaned into the kiss, and then pushed herself into his arms and reached up to kiss him full on the mouth. She felt him tense in surprise at her sudden closeness, and then he pressed her to him with one arm while both the kiss and the embrace deepened from an innocent expression of affection into something more aggressive and insistent.

"You're distracting as hell," muttered Shinjiro, moving away from her at last. "Go home. If you're hungry, there are leftovers in the fridge."

"Shinji," Minako began.

"Forget it, I'm not letting you stick around here," he interrupted her. "You're exhausted enough as it is. Besides, I can't focus when you're around. You throw me off."

Minako sighed. She didn't want to be at home by herself right now. She needed human contact, needed someone close to her. More than anything else, she wanted desperately to prove to herself that having Shinjiro there would at least make the strange, confusing feelings stop spinning around in her head.

"If you want to be helpful," murmured Shinjiro, relenting slightly, "then wait here for a minute while make a cup of coffee, okay? I'll be right back."

Before she could offer to go and make the coffee herself, Shinjiro's footsteps were heading away from her towards the kitchen.

"Was that for my benefit?" asked Tohru, as soon as Shinjiro's footsteps had disappeared.

Minako bit her lip. "I don't know what you're talking about," she told him.

"Really?" Tohru sounded somehow annoyed and amused at the same time. "Because if you're trying to make me jealous, you're doing a pretty good job. Like I said before, you're good at what you do."

"What I do?" Minako was doing her best not to lose her temper. She did not need Shinjiro to hear them from all the way over in the kitchen. "I don't 'do' anything. Why would I want you to be jealous?"

"Who knows?" asked Tohru philosophically. "I was actually hoping that you'd tell me that. After what you said this morning, I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep again until I find out why you'd want me to be jealous. You wouldn't want me to lose sleep, would you?"

Minako took a deep breath. "I don't care if you sleep or not," she informed him. "I don't care what happens to you."

"You know, you are a really terrible liar," murmured Tohru. "I like that about you. It's unusual."

Minako didn't have to think up a response, because she heard Shinjiro stalking back through the deserted station.

"I could probably take him," said Tohru. "I mean…okay, he's tall, yeah, but-!"

"Shut up," hissed Minako.

"Huh?" asked Shinjiro, placing a hand on her shoulder to help her find him. "Did you say something?"

Minako shook her head. "No," she told him. "Nothing. I'm going back. Wake me up when you get in, okay? And be careful. Please."

As she walked out of the station, Minako wasn't entirely sure what she wanted Shinjiro to be careful of. There wasn't any chance that Tohru would really try to "take" Shinjiro, was there?

Minako decided to try not to think about it. After all, Shinjiro would definitely win in a fight…wouldn't he?

**The next morning, at the Dojima residence…**

Yosuke, Yu, and Nanako were holding a council of war in Nanako's living room.

The entire investigation team, including Junpei and Shinjiro, was sitting around, on the couch and on the floor, listening intently as Yosuke outlined what he was trying not to think of as his master plan.

"It's very simple," he told them. "We all go in together, and four of us work to head the thing off. If that doesn't work, then we'll try a new team. Each of us having different skills, and different strengths. There's gotta be some way that at least one of us can find to kill it. It's not even attacking us, it's not like we have to focus on dodging or defending. We can go straight in for the kill. How hard could it be?"

He was trying to sound encouraging and optimistic, but even Yosuke knew that he looked tired. That 'date' of his and Minako's last night had been the farthest thing from relaxing that he could imagine, and he'd ended up losing sleep over that on top of being exhausted from trying to puzzle out the Velvet Room problem.

"I don't want anyone getting hurt on my account," insisted Yu, who, much to Yosuke's relief, had finally emerged from his bedroom looking haggard, but resolved. "It's not worth it."

"Dude," replied Yosuke, "it's absolutely worth it. There's no way you wouldn't do the same for any of us, right? I mean, you have done the same for most of us!"

"Besides," insisted Yukiko reasonably, "the shadow doesn't seem to want to hurt us. I can't imagine that we're in any real danger."

That, unfortunately, Yosuke could not agree with. For all that it may have looked innocent and skittish, he knew, the shadow was still a shadow. It could be capable of anything, and he wasn't willing to let his guard down or take any unreasonable risks.

"Um," said Nanako hesitantly. "I'm going too, okay? I'm sorry about last time. I won't get in the way this time. I promise."

Yosuke just nodded. He didn't like it for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that, being unwilling to fight, Nanako would be in even more danger than usual. At the same time, they couldn't possibly leave her behind, considering the power she'd already demonstrated, and the fact that she was, after all, the Wild Card. Maybe, if push came to shove, she'd come through for them. With the whole team in the Velvet Room together, it would be easier to protect and keep an eye on Nanako anyway.

"Hey," suggested Junpei. "You know, Minako's gonna be working at the police station all day. She's probably worried sick about you; you know how women get. Why don't you go over and hang out with her, Yu?"

"Yeah," agreed Chie enthusiastically. "Then if your head starts to hurt again. or something goes wrong, at least you won't be all by yourself!"

"Nothing," interjected Yosuke firmly, "is going to go wrong, got it?" After a moment, he added, "Uh, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to the station. At least they can probably find something for you to do there, to take your mind off of this stuff."

Eventually, Yu did agree to go to the police station, while Yosuke and the others headed for Junes. As they drove over, Yosuke wondered to himself why they'd never tried going in through the TV in the Dojima residence. After all, if Teddie and Rise were there with them, they'd probably be able to find their way to the Velvet Room and out again, no matter what entrance they went in from. Next time, he decided, they'd try it.

Igor and the three assistants were sitting patiently, watching the doorway when Yosuke and the team came in. Somehow, Yosuke was glad to see a t total lack of coloring books, although there was still evidence on the walls of the room where someone, perhaps Igor, or perhaps the assistants under his instruction, had torn down hastily-pasted up artwork.

"Ah, so you've come back to try again?" asked Igor. "Your perseverance is commendable. Margaret?"

Dutifully, Margaret stood up and led the others through the nightmare door.

"Hey, you know," said Yosuke, as they passed in together, "it's not like we can't find our own way in by now."

"It is appropriate," murmured Margaret, "that I show you due guidance in your journey."

The guidance is fine, thought Yosuke, but the total lack of personality is still creepy. Besides, it' wasn't as though Margaret, Elizabeth, or Theodore ever did anything useful. They just stood there and watched while the team took on whatever shadows were present in the room. Hadn't Yu once said that Margaret was actually really strong in a fight? If that was the case, then how come she never stepped in to help them? Even Yosuke had to admit that, at this point, they could have used all the help they could get.

"Okay," he said, once they were all ranged outside the door to Yu's mind. "I want Kanji on the right and Shinjiro-san on the left. Chie, you'll come up from behind, so get ready to move as soon as that door opens. I'll take the front. Is everybody ready?"

"Ready!" announced Chie, as she positioned herself accordingly.

"Yup, all set, senpai," agreed Kanji.

"Let's just do this already," grunted Shinjiro.

On Yosuke's signal, the rest of the unassigned party members stepped back, leaving Margaret room to open the door.

Then, something suddenly occurred to Yosuke, something which had been unconsciously bothering him even as he had been looking over and choosing the members of the initial assault team.

"Wait," he began. "Where's Nanako?"

It was too late. Margaret opened the door, and the rabbit shadow blinked out at them from the darkness. Everyone was tensed to spring, and Yosuke didn't dare risk waiting too long and losing the chance to attack.

"Go!" he shouted.

The next few moments were a slow motion blur. Yosuke saw Chie cut the shadow off as it lunged backwards, which pushed it directly into Shinjiro, who swung at it with his axe, and sending it hurtling towards Kanji. As Kanji drove the shadow forward again towards Yosuke, Yosuke caught sight, out of the corner of his eye, of Nanako, several feet away, in front of the door to Minako's mind.

"Nanako!" he shouted. "What are you doing? Stop!"

Nanako either couldn't hear him, or wasn't listening. Unable to focus on the shadow rabbit any longer, Yosuke watched Nanako reach forward and pulled open the door, revealing the dark, shining coils of a great, loathsome looking shadow snake with piercingly evil yellow eyes. The snake's eyes fixed on Nanako, and Yosuke prepared to run towards it to defend her.

Before the snake had a chance to attack, however, the rabbit shadow, now free to run, bounded forward past Yosuke and directly into the path of the snake. Distracted, the snake swung its head around towards the rabbit, and then, in a single, terrifying movement, the snake's head shot forward and it's jaws closed around the rabbit shadow, snapping it up and devouring it in a single swallow.

"What the shit-?" began Kanji in horror.

"Nanako-chan!" screamed Chie. "Get out of there!"

Yosuke started running. With his feet pounding the breath out of his lungs with every stride, he rushed over and swung Nanako up into his arms, throwing himself bodily out of the way as the snake's head darted forward and just barely missed intercepting him.

"Oh my god," wailed Yukiko. "Yosuke, look!"

Yosuke, now with Nanako safely tucked away behind him, looked.

The snake shadow was growing. As it chewed the last few remnants of shadow essence that had once been the elusive rabbit, it's coils were increasing in size, faster and faster, until it's head was pressing against the ceiling of the room. From its vantage point above them, the snake loomed over the team, baring it's fangs and hissing menacingly.

Then, it did something Yosuke knew it wasn't supposed to be able to do.

It slithered out of the doorway, and headed right for the little group.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Author's Note: **Special thanks to **EmD23 **for posting a review on my last chapter that made me laugh so hard I almost choked on myself in the middle of tonight's class on "Literacy and the Early Childhood Curriculum." I needed that.

I have to go into work so early tomorrow for various reasons that there isn't actually any point in my sleeping tonight. I mean, I have to be up again for work in a matter of a couple of hours.

So, while I lie here awake, resenting my boss, here is a second update.

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

Minako and Yu were sitting at Dojima's desk, trying to relax over a cup of coffee while the detective himself was out investigating the scene of a local storefront robbery. Minako had been working as hard as she could for the last hour to try and take Yu's mind off of whatever might be going on inside the Velvet Room, but it wasn't working. She knew, of course, that the reason she couldn't distract him was that she was just as worried sick as he was.

"What time is it?" asked Yu, for probably the sixteenth time in the last few minutes.

"I don't know," replied Minako, sighing. "I can't see the clock."

"Oh, of course. Um. I'm sorry," mumbled Yu. "That was inconsiderate of me."

Minako shook her head. "Not really," she told him. "I think I'd feel worse if you spent all of your time thinking about what I can and can't do."

She heard Yu's chair roll around in a circle, as Yu apparently turned to see the clock for himself. "It's almost noon," he informed her. "They've been in there for an hour. That's a long time. Something might be wrong."

"They've been gone for an hour," Minako corrected him. "They've probably only actually been in the Velvet Room for half that time. Really, you're only going to make yourself crazy obsessing over it like this. You need to take a deep breath, and try to think about something else."

There was a short silence before Yu asked, "How do you do it? Relax, I mean? What do you do to stop yourself worrying?"

"I…" began Minako, biting her lip. Finally, she shrugged, and admitted, "I don't. There isn't anything. We just have to accept that there's nothing we can do. Let's talk about something else. Um…"

"How did your date with Yosuke go, last night?" asked Yu, unexpectedly.

Minako frowned. "My what? Don't you mean Junpei's date with Rise? It went, uh…actually, I think it could have gone better, but Rise and Junpei seem to get along very well. Junpei must have been nervous, because he started saying some really awful things about me…I'll have to get him back for that later. Why do you ask?"

"Oh," murmured Yu casually, "no reason. Yosuke just called me last night after he got back. He said that it had been a 'tough night'. I wondered why, but, he didn't want to talk about it."

Minako opened her mouth to respond to that, but was stopped by Yu's sudden grunt of pain. "Yu?" she asked. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"My…head," managed Yu, around gritted teeth. "It's pounding, like…like it's trying to break apart."

Minako reached out and found him, pressing her fingertips to his forehead. Beads of sweat were beginning to form around his brow, and she could feel his breathing getting more and more labored as she sat there.

"I'll get some painkillers," she told him, standing up and turning to reach for her bag. "Shinji makes me pack them every morning before I go to work, so I'm sure I've got some in here that we can use. It always worked for me when I-!"

Yu screamed. It was a gut wrenching, ear-splitting sound, so jarring in comparison to his usual soft-spoken manner that Minako took a step back in shock. "Oh god, it hurts…" he moaned. "I can't breathe…I can't…"

Painkillers, Minako realized, were not going to help. This was bad, far worse than any shadow-borne headache that she'd ever experienced. Something terrible must be happening in the Velvet Room, she knew, and the torment in Yu's voice made it very clear that whatever was happening would cripple him horribly if it didn't stop happening soon. On top of that, all of her friends were in there right now. Whatever it was they were facing was bigger and scarier than they had expected. Both they and Yu were in some kind of serious danger. Minako tried not to panic.

"Yu?" she said. "You need to listen to me. Try to listen to me, focus on my voice, okay? You need to breathe. Force it if you have to, even if it hurts."

Dutifully, painstakingly, Yu forced out a couple of shallow, aching breaths. "Ow," he muttered. "Crap…"

"Good." Minako gave his shoulder an encouraging little squeeze. "Look, something must be happening inside the TV. We just need to wait until they get things under control, and then I'm sure…"

But she was lying, and she knew it. Yu probably knew it too. It was very possible, based on the severity of the attack, that things were not going to get under control. Minako wondered desperately if there was any way that she could get into the Velvet Room, to figure out just exactly what was going on. Even if she could get in, she knew, there was nothing that she could possibly do to help. She was completely useless without her persona, and it had never been as frustrating before as it was just then. Minako felt like screaming herself.

Then, in a moment of alarming clarity, she remembered. She and Yu weren't the only people in the room who had used a persona before. There was someone else here, who would have access to the Velvet Room.

"Yu," she said again. "We're gonna fix this. We're going to make it stop hurting, but I need you to help me. I can't do this by myself. We have to find your uncle's keys."

"Keys?" whispered Yu. "Why…keys?"

"I don't have time to explain," insisted Minako."Please, just trust me. I need your eyes."

At first, Yu didn't move, and Minako wondered if maybe he'd passed out from all of the unbearable pain. After a tense moment, however, she heard him swivel very slowly around in his chair.

"On the desk," he told her breathlessly. "Next to the paperweight."

Minako rain her hands over the desktop until she touched Dojima's prized paperweight, a present that Nanako had made for him in her kindergarten class. Next to it, just as Yu had described, were a familiar set of metal keys. Minako picked them up, and then shoved them into the pocket of her jacket. "I'll be right back," she promised him. "Just hang in there. Don't leave. You have to be here when I get back, okay?"

"What…" managed Yu. "Minako, what are you-?"

Minako, however, wasn't listening. She ran over to the cells, and heard Tohru stand up as she approached.

"You're a persona user, aren't you?" she asked him, getting right to the point. "I know you are. You can get into the TV world. You can get into the Velvet Room, can't you?"

"What?" asked Tohru, apparently too taken aback to make any of his usual snide remarks. "What are you talking about? And who screamed? What the hell is going on?"

"Can you," demanded Minako, "or can you not get into the Velvet Room? This is important!"

"Should have known you'd have a persona," muttered Tohru. "After all, you are one of that bunch of goody two-shoes brats. Anyway, what do you need me for? If you can use a persona, then you can get in by yourself, can't you?"

"No," Minako began, "I can't. I don't have a persona anymore." She considered telling him that she didn't have time to explain, but immediately realized that this man didn't owe her any favors. Without a full explanation, she might not be able to get him to help her.

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "Listen."

As quickly and succinctly as she could, Minako explained everything. She told Tohru about her death at Gekkoukan, when she'd become the seal, and then about the sacrifice she and Yu had both made when they'd given up part of their souls to re-form that seal. She explained about the shadows that had taken over her and Yu's minds, about the headaches, and about how her friends had gone in only an hour before.

"And now," she finished finally, "I need to get in there so I can figure out what's wrong with Yu!"

"Wow," muttered Tohru slowly. "None of that makes…any sense at all. I'm starting to think you might actually be crazy."

"I'm not crazy!" insisted Minako desperately. "Tohru, I need you to throw me into the TV!"

There was a moment of stunned silence before Tohru responded.

"Do you want to run that by me again?" he asked her. "The part about how you're not crazy, but you want me to throw you into the TV? Do you know what kind of stuff happens to people who get thrown in without personas?"

Minako shook her head impatiently. "It's different with me," she informed him. "I don't have a shadow self, I already gave it up to form the seal. I'll be fine. My friends might not be. I have to do something!"

"But you already said that there's nothing you can do," countered Tohru. "Aren't you being a little irrational about all this? Even if I did get you in there, which I'm not saying I'm gonna do, then you'd just end up being a dumbass and getting yourself killed by…by whatever it is. Why not just let them do what they've gotta do? You're safer out here. They're the ones who decided to play heroes."

"I need to try," she repeated. "I need to! Maybe there is something! Besides, Tohru, Nanako's in there!"

That, as Minako had hoped, got a reaction. Tohru sucked in a sharp, surprised breath. "Nanako-chan," he murmured. "Why the hell would she…but she's just a kid."

Minako wanted to respond to that, to encourage him to be more worried about Nanako. Before she'd managed to even form the sentence, however, a sudden and mercilessly pounding pain took control of her skull, and she instantly doubled over on to the floor, clutching at her head with both hands and sobbing out a breathless wail that she could feel sucking all of the air out of her lungs.

"Hey!' Somewhere nearby, Tohru's voice was calling her to her through the agony. "Hey! Snap out of it!"A hand grabbed at Minako's arm as she fell back against the bars of the cell. "Damnit," muttered Tohru. "Can't reach."

"Ow…" Minako didn't know if she'd spoken the word out loud, or not. She was swimming in a sea of awful, mind-numbing pain, unable to think of anything except how desperately she wanted it to stop.

"Whoa, hey," shouted Tohru, sounding uncharacteristically scared. "Stay with me, okay? Listen, I'll do it. I'll get you into the TV, just…just don't die on me, got it? Did you hear me? Hey, Minako?"

Taking the same advice she'd given to Yu, Minako forced herself to breathe, dragging a few torturous breaths in and out of her lungs as she pushed herself unsteadily back on to her feet. She contorted her face into what she knew wasn't really a smile, and rasped out, "You…never use my real name. You must be…really freaked out."

"Shit…" muttered Tohru, obviously relieved. "If you could see yourself right now, you'd know why. Are you sure you can-!"

Minako was already trying out the different keys in the lock on the cell door. It took her three tries to find the right one, and as soon as she felt the lock click open, she half walked, and half fell forward into the cell,

"Don't try to run," she told Tohru, as she fumbled with the keys again, searching with her fingers for the lock on Dojima's handcuffs. "If you do, I'll…stop you."

Tohru laughed incredulously. "Seriously?" he asked. "You'll stop me, huh? You can barely even stand up on your own. Here." Passing an arm around her waist, Tohru helped her steady herself against his side. "What are you doing with those cuffs?"

Minako was in the process of unlocking one of the cuffs, and then re-locking it around her own wrist. "I told you," she reminded him. "I'm not letting you escape."

"Jeez, you really are an idiot," said Tohru. "I'm a lot stronger than you. Look." Minako felt a sharp tug, and then she found herself dragged forward by the wrist. Taking her other wrist in his now free hand, Tohru held her hard for a moment, murmuring, "See? And now, we have a problem, because I'm free, and you're trapped. Did you even try to think this one through first?"

"Yes," breathed Minako. "I did." She didn't bother to try to struggle free of his grip. "I know that you meant what you said at the riverbank. You want to be the person I saw when I first met you, right? You want to be somebody's hero? Well, this is your chance. It may be your last chance, but it's a really good one. If you're gonna prove to yourself and to everyone else that you're still a human being, then this is where you do it. So? Are you in, or out?"

Tohru let Minako's wrist fall limply out of his hand. "You really are something else," he muttered. "You do know what a terrible idea this is, right?"

"Yeah," agreed Minako. Taking a deep, controlled breath, she put one foot forward, and then the other, managing to get her feet into a rhythm that guided them through the pain. "You're going to have to lead," she informed him, "and I'm going to have to trust you."

"Do you?" asked Tohru.

"No," admitted Minako. "But we're both running out of other options."


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Author's Note: **So…my wrist keeps throbbing whenever I clench my hand in a certain way. Typing is kind of painful, but it's not too terrible yet…and I have to finish this story! There are only a few chapters left to go! I can do it!

I'm a woman on a mission.

Oh, by the way, everyone should go and check out **Memories of You**, by **ReachingOutFES, **and beta read by **Gin Nanashi.** It's a Minato and Minako story, which I know that lots of you would love. They are both awesome people and the story is magnificent! You won't be disappointed.

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

As they stepped out of the station, Minako slipped her one shackled hand into Tohru's, and felt him start in surprise.

"Uh," he began, "so, hand holding…that's not really my thing."

"I don't like it any better than you do," Minako informed him. "It's not like I want to hold your hand. I just don't want anyone to notice the handcuffs."

"Well, jeez, way to let me down easy," muttered Tohru.

Exasperated, Minako did not bother to dignify that with a response.

"Are we taking the bus?" asked Tohru, after a moment. "Someone might recognize me. I mean, I have been a pretty popular guy, lately."

"We're walking," said Minako, shaking her head. "Or, running, I guess. We have to hurry, there may not be much time. Yu's still waiting for us back at the station."

Suiting the word to the action, she began to run, but had to stop short when she found herself encumbered by the hand that was still attached to Tohru. "Come on!" she insisted. "What are you waiting for? Let's go already!"

"Cut it out," commanded Tohru. "This isn't getting you anywhere. The bravado is cute, and all, but you can barely walk. If you overdo it and pass out, I'm getting out of here, and you're going to have to explain that to Dojima-san when he gets back. Then you'll be screwed."

"You can't get away as long as I've got the key to the handcuffs," Minako reminded him.

"Yeah," agreed Tohru. "And if you pass out, I'm gonna get to search you for that key, and don't think I won't enjoy it, either. Nope, it looks like we're gonna have to take it slow."

With that, Tohru began leading Minako forward by the hand, walking at what Minako felt had to be a snail's pace. Every now and then, a fresh wave of nauseating pain would wash over her, and she would have to stop to catch her breath and pull herself together. The minutes felt like hours as the pair pushed painstakingly, haltingly forward towards Junes.

"You're pretty bent out of shape over this," remarked Tohru, unnecessarily. "Your friends sure mean a lot to you, huh?"

Minako nodded, biting her lip. "I know they'd do the same for me," she managed, stumbling and catching herself for the umpteenth time.

"You sure about that?" asked Tohru. "Because in my experience, people are a lot more disappointing in real life than they are in your head. They tend to let you down when you least expect it."

"So you've decided to just expect it all the time?" countered Minako."I've said it before, but you really need some new friends. Are we there yet?"Minako was aware that the atmosphere around them had changed. The air was denser, more populated now, and the press of bodies and the rising murmur of conversation alerted her to the fact that they were probably getting closer to their destination.

"Where are we?" she asked. "Is this the food court? We need to go into the electronics department."

Someone brushed past Minako's shoulder, unbalancing her and sending her teetering over to collide with Tohru. Pushing her back on to her feet, he muttered, "I know that. Relax. I said I'd get you in there, didn't I?"

After a few more tense moments of navigating the crowd, Minako heard Tohru open a door, and they passed together into a significantly quieter, cleaner smelling room, full of the sounds of beeping monitors. "You're in luck," said Tohru, as he pulled Minako to a stop. "There isn't anybody else here right now. Let's just get this over with."

Minako began to fumble in her pocket for the key to the handcuffs. Then, just as she was preparing to unlock them, she paused, realizing that she couldn't just leave Tohru out here alone, and still expect to find him here when she got back.

"Um," she mumbled.

Tohru sighed. "What," he asked, "You just figured it out? Yeah, I'm coming, too. Think of it this way; if I push you in, and then you die in there, someone else will have to start all over with this little "reclaim Tohru Adachi's soul" project of yours. It's probably better if we just go together."

"What if I had let you go?" asked Minako. "Would you have come with me anyway?"

She felt Tohru's arm move up and down as he shrugged. "What's the point of that question?" he asked her. "Sure, I'll let you believe that if you want. Anyway, here we go."

Minako felt herself suddenly yanked forward, and then there was the strange but familiar sensation of falling into a fuzzy, blurred-out moment in time. She hit the ground on her hands and knees, but was relieved to feel that the handcuffs were still secure. At least she hadn't managed to lose her prisoner during the trip into the TV. Yosuke had warned her that sometimes, things like ropes got disconnected in transit.

"Do you see the Velvet Room door?" She asked.

"Sure," said Tohru. "We're sitting right in front of it."

Minako took a deep breath. "Okay," she instructed him. "Let's try to go through the door together. I may be able to get through if we're holding on to each other at the time. It worked before when my friends tried it, so maybe it will work for me too. It's worth a shot, anyway."

Again, Minako felt the shrug, and then she and Tohru were moving forward. They took three, four, five paces before Minako's body slammed up against an unseen wall, and she staggered back again.

"No good, huh?" asked Tohru.

Minako shook her head. She was stunned, but not actually hurt. "Try again," she said.

They tried again, twice, but each time, Minako found herself blocked by the unseen barrier. Every time she impacted against it, she felt the pain in her head worsen slightly, until both the pain and her rising panic began to mix together into an overwhelming feeling of desperation.

"It's not working," she gasped, more to herself than to Tohru. "I can't get in. I can't get to them."

"Hey," said Tohru, but Minako wasn't listening.

Reaching forward until she found the wall again, Minako banged mercilessly against it with both fists. "Theodore!" she called out. "Margaret! Elizabeth! Junpei, Yosuke! Anybody, please!" Images were beginning to swirl through her pain-soaked mind. They were images of Yu, screaming, writing in his chair, and of Junpei lying on the ground with some horrible horse/rabbit shadow gnawing on the side of his head.

"Please!" she yelled, her breath coming out in gasps as she threw herself as hard as she could against the wall. "Please, let me in! Let me IN!" Tears began to well up in her eyes and overflow on to her face. Something horrible, she knew was happening to her friends in there, and there was nothing she could do even to get past the front door.

"Stop it!" Tohru had her around the waist and was pulling her forcefully back from the wall. "Knock it off!"

For the second time that day, he sounded genuinely worried, and the strangeness of hearing that tone in his voice made Minako sit back for a moment and listen.

"I'll go," Tohru was saying. "Okay? Do you hear me? You're no use like this anyway. I'll bust in there and save your dumbass friends, if that's what you want, just stop beating yourself against the wall! And quit crying. You're ugly when you cry, and that's no good."

"What?" asked Minako blearily. Everything hurt. The world hurt. Thinking hurt. "You'll…what?"

"Give me the key," demanded Tohru.

Somehow, Minako managed to get the key out of her pocket and hand it to him. She heard it click into the lock on the handcuffs, and then the cuffs fell away, leaving her wrist free and aching slightly from the pressure.

"Don't die on me, blind girl," muttered Tohru. "It'd be boring as hell if you died on me now."

Then, his voice was gone, and so was his presence. Minako sank down to the ground, and rested her head against the cool floor as the world around her filled up with pain, and went suddenly silent.

**Meanwhile, in the Velvet Room...**

Things were bad, and getting worse. Yosuke and the entire investigation team had been throwing every attack and spell they had at the giant shadow snake for what felt like ages. The trouble was that the snake, much like the rabbit it had devoured, seemed to be able to dodge easily around everything they tried. This time, however, the snake had no problem attacking them in turn.

Naoto, who had already taken two heavy blows from the snake's coils, muttered at Yosuke through her teeth. "Fear," she told him breathlessly. "The rabbit shadow was fear…and other emotions, almost all other emotions can feed off of fear."

"Not helpful right now," said Yosuke, slamming the shadow with a garudyne attack and watching the snake simply slide itself to one side. "Not unless you can use that philosophical crap to find a way to kill it!"

Yosuke stopped, distracted, because the snake had suddenly turned its attention away from him, and was now staring balefully at the doorway leading into Yu's psychological sanctum. It sat there for a moment, unmoving and focused. A cold shiver of dread trickled uncomfortably down Yosuke's spine.

"What's it doing?" he asked of no one in particular.

Then, the snake moved.

Bunching its coils together, it suddenly hunkered down and lashed out in all directions, spreading its coils wide and wild across the room. The giant body of the snake pressed and pounded against all four walls of the room, relentlessly smashing into them again and again, until the walls began to disintegrate slowly, bit by bit, and to drift up and vanish in clouds of what looked like the same shadow essence that dead shadows turned into.

"Oh my god," whispered Chie. "Oh my god, it's-!"

"We must get out of here immediately," said Margaret. Yosuke blinked. Until that moment, he had completely forgotten that she was even in the room. "The shadow is going to destroy the thresholds of the mind. We must evacuate before the room comes crumbling down around us."

Evacuate? Yosuke shook his head. If the shadow was going to destroy the whole room, then that meant…

"What'll happen to Yu and Minako?" he asked. "If this thing destroys the doors, then what does that mean for them?"

Margaret just shook her head. "I do not know," she admitted. "This is not something that I have ever witnessed before as a resident of this Velvet Room."

Whatever it was, thought Yosuke, it wouldn't be good. If the room was destroyed, did that mean that Yu and Minako's minds would be destroyed as well? Would they go crazy, or would they…

He didn't want to finish the rest of that thought. It didn't matter anyway, he realized, what would happen if the room was destroyed, because Yosuke Hanamura was not going to let it be destroyed in the first place. His partners were out there, counting on him to protect them from whatever horrible crazy thing was trying to happen right now, and he was going to protect them if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Naoto!" he shouted across at her."Try megidolaon again!"

It's no use, Yosuke-senpai," insisted Naoto, ducking to one side as one of the snake's coils pounded dangerously close to her head. "I have tried everything within my power, but nothing is having any effect. I have no more skills to attempt. I am sorry."

"There has to be something that will work on it!" Yosuke was unwilling to give up. "Nothing is invincible, right? There's always something!"

Behind him, he heard the door to the Velvet Room open, followed immediately by a gasp of surprise from Chie. Turning just enough to see the doorway out of the corner of his eye, Yosuke was stunned and horrified to see Adachi striding in through the open door. "Wait, what?" he exclaimed. "How did he get out? What's he doing here? Somebody do something. Kanji, get your-!"

But Kanji, as Yosuke could see, was pinned against one wall by the snake, in the process of trying and failing to beat it to death with his chair. "No can do, senpai," he muttered.

"Then, Yukiko, I need you to-!" began Yosuke, but Yukiko, too, was in the middle of casting a healing spell on Teddie, who was in turn casting a healing spell on Junpei, who seemed to have been knocked unconscious to the ground.

"Adachi-san!" called Nanako, ducking under the snake to rush across the room to his side. "Look out! It's dangerous in here, there's a giant snake!"

"What the hell…" muttered Adachi, staring up into the yellow eyes of the shadow. "What is that thing?"

"It's trying to kill Big Bro!" sobbed Nanako breathlessly. "And Minako, too! If it breaks the whole room, then she and Big Bro will…" Nanako ducked out of the way just in time as the snake's head darted down and tried to snap her up in its jaws.

"Oh yeah?" asked Adachi, stepping in front of Nanako and pushing her back out of the way of the snake. "I don't really like the sound of that. Maybe it's time we taught it a lesson."

As Yosuke watched, sickened but unable to focus long enough to stop it, Adachi's face hardened into the crazed, bitter smile that still haunted Yosuke's dreams three nights out of five. The man's whole posture changed, and he seemed to both hunch and get taller at the same time, reaching into his pocket with one hand to pull out an all too familiar looking card.

"Persona," he whispered.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Author's Note: **So, I keep the radio on a lot when I work. While I was writing the beginning of this chapter, the radio decided to play "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark," which is, apparently, by Fall Out Boy, not a band that I ever listen to. Still, I think that song would probably be a good choice to listen to while you're reading the beginning of this chapter, as it fits remarkably well. I looked through the rest of their music, though, and I can't say I like any of it…oh well. Can't win 'em all.

WARNING: This is a full-fledged Ari Moriarty-style finale. We will lose characters in these next two chapters, although we're not quite looking at "character death," as such. Things are gonna happen. Okay, enough out of me, let's just get to the chapter.

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

Instinctively, Yosuke took a step back from Adachi, watching as the rest of the team did the same thing. Only Nanako seemed willing to stay near him, peering out from behind his back as Magatsu Izanagi leapt forth out of the chaos of his tortured mind. There were veins standing out on Adachi's forehead as he muttered something to himself, and then a column of heat erupted around him as he beefed himself up for an attack.

"Nanako," called Yosuke. "Come here."

Nanako, however, didn't appear to be listening. She was watching, wide-eyed, as Adachi's persona took a massive swipe at the snake shadow's head with its vorpal blade. The attack didn't' connect, but the snake stopped beating it's coils against the walls just long enough to turn its menacing attention to the persona attacking it.

"Damnit," said Adachi, shaking his head and grinning mirthlessly at the snake. "Seriously? Fine, okay. Ziodyne!" A torrent of lightning hammered down around the body of the snake, but again, it managed to dodge every blow.

"Tch," muttered Adachi. "Just die already…"

The snake did not die. Instead, it slammed Adachi with two of its bunched up coils, sending him crashing backwards on to the ground. As he lay there for a moment, slightly stunned, Yosuke watched, fascinated, as a trickle of blood slid down from Adachi's forehead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yukiko tense slightly, but she didn't move. She and Teddie exchanged a significant look, but again, neither of them seemed willing to step in on behalf of this man who had almost cost them their lives and the lives of people they loved.

Nanako, however, apparently had no such misgivings. Her persona, Dawn, had disappeared when she'd turned to hide behind Adachi, and now she summoned Icarus, who crept out in front of Adachi with his wings spread out, in what looked like a pathetic attempt to ward off the snake's oncoming attack.

"Knock it off," snarled Adachi. "That's not gonna help. Just get out of the way and let me-!"

"No," said Nanako, in a voice so quiet that Yosuke could barely hear her from where he was standing. "Not this time."

Icarus' wings erupted into flame, forming a wall of fire in front of both Nanako and Adachi. They both had to step back to avoid the unbearable heat, and Yosuke heard Adachi grunt in surprise. The snake lunged forward and bit down on one of the wings, then let out a wild, unearthly moan of anguish as it threw itself back against the wall, disintegrating a few more inches of the room as it did so.

"Ooops," whispered Nanako. "Sorry…"

"Hey," Kanji remarked, as the battle waged on without them. "Teddie, I thought you said that shadows don't' really feel pain."

"Um…" Teddie frowned. "I lied. I mean, I sort of lied. Most shadows don't' feel pain. Remember, though, I'm a shadow, and I get hurt all the time, so…"

From around the wall of fire, Magatsu Izanagi threw out a darkness attack that the snake, apparently blocked by Icarus' wings, didn't see in time to react. This time, and for the first time, an attack actually hit the snake, and it hissed in anger as its coils bunched up closer in upon themselves. The snake's tail reached out and wrapped itself around Nanako's leg, beginning to pull her forward towards it, but a quick slice of Magatsu Izanagi's vorpal blade angered the snake enough to distract it and to force it to let go of the little girl.

"If the shadow is a part of Yu's mind," asked Yukiko cautiously, "do you think that it hurts Yu when the shadow gets hurt?"

"Um…I don't know," admitted Teddie. "It might hurt Sensei and Minako-chan, at this point…I don't think the shadow belongs to either of them, now. I think after it ate the rabbit, it became a part of both of them, maybe."

So, thought Yosuke, if we don't kill it, then it will destroy them by breaking their minds into pieces. If we do attack it, and manage to hit it, then every time we do damage, it will hurt them anyway.

"What are we supposed to do, then?" he shouted desperately, to no one in particular.

The snake hurled its body into the wall again, right next to the door to Minako's mind. As the pieces of the wall crumbled away, Yosuke suddenly heard the distant but bone-chilling echo of a scream, coming from somewhere outside of the room itself.

"Minako," mumbled Shinjiro, turning white.

Adachi stood still for a moment, and Yosuke saw something new in his eyes, something that was almost like panic. It jarred drastically with the anger and malicious glee that had been stamped on his features only a moment before.

"Atom smasher!" Adachi shouted, hurling himself into a fresh attack with renewed force. Shinjiro and Junpei were running forward as well, each of them with their evokers already held against their heads, prepared to join in the fight.

Yosuke had every intention of going with them, until he realized that Nanako was beginning to sag under the pressure of keeping up Icarus' flaming barrier. Something about whatever that spell entailed was really taking it out of her, and Yosuke could see that she was breathing hard, and that her eyelids were fluttering as though she was going to pass out.

"Nanako!" he called, taking a step towards her. Before he could move, however, Teddie was at Nanako's side, supporting her with one hand while his persona began to heal her. For a brief moment, Teddie's eyes met Yosuke's, and Yosuke nodded once. Then, he rushed forward and threw himself full force into the onslaught against the shadow.

The battle waged on for what felt like hours. Although every member of the team was beginning to feel the strain of having been fighting for so hard and for so long, the fact that they were now at least able to successfully strike the enemy strengthened and buoyed them, giving them fresh will to fight. Eventually, the combined onslaught of Yosuke and his friends began to drive the snake back. It was weakening, Yosuke knew, and would soon be beaten. They were going to win the day.

Still, something was terribly wrong. The more the snake suffered, the harder it pushed and beat against the walls of the room, and the entire room was now dangerously close to collapsing. Yosuke wondered helplessly to himself if there was any way that they could stop the crumbling of the walls. Reaching out with one hand, he tried physically supporting the structure, but to no avail. The walls were made of something that dissolved at the snake's touch, something like the shadows, which could disintegrate the moment they accepted defeat.

"It's no use," he mumbled out loud. "We can't…we can't save them. It's over."

Even as that horrible realization began sinking, unwelcome, into his mind, Yosuke felt a light touch on his shoulder. Turning, he saw that Margaret was standing behind him, watching the disintegration of the walls with a sad but oddly understanding look on her face. "There is a way," she told him quietly. "It is up to the wielder of the Wild Card to decide."

"Up to me?" Nanako, still straining under the weight of Icarus, frowned. "What…what can I do?"

From somewhere he definitely hadn't been before, Theodore appeared, accompanied by Elizabeth. "We have told you before," he instructed Nanako and Yosuke, "that this place is only a construct created by your minds. Everything you see is a representation of your own minds and souls."

"That means us, too," remarked Elizabeth. "We are a part of this place, just as we are a part of your minds."

"Our shape is dictated by what you have imagined and selected," agreed Margaret, "interpreted by our Master and solidified by your interactions with us. It is not, however, static. In times of crisis, you may choose to bend your mind to your own will."

"It is our sole responsibility to protect the sanctity of your mind," finished Theodore.

Nanako shook her head. "I don't understand," she told them. "I'm sorry, but, I don't. What does it all mean, about minds, and protection? I didn't make you up. You were already here when I came. Remember?"

"As residents of the Velvet Room," continued Theodore, "we anticipate and interpret your innermost psychological needs and impressions. Those needs give us power, strength, all the tools required to aid you. We understand what it is you need of us, and over time have grown to come to recognize our needs of you. We are here when you require assistance, just as you have taught us more about what it is like to be you. This same symbiosis prompts and compels me to ask you; do you require us to save your friends?"

"Um, yes!" Nanako glanced over at Yosuke and Teddie, but neither of them could make any more sense of Theodore's words than she could. "Of course! Please, save them!"

Margaret, Elizabeth, and Theodore looked at each other in that calm, composed way that they always seemed to manage even in the midst of a crisis. Except for the time when Elizabeth had gone rogue and attempted to re-seal Yu to save Minako, Yosuke had almost never seen the assistants even momentarily flustered. The slightest flicker of regret and sadness in Margaret's eyes alerted Yosuke immediately to the fact that something was about to happen, something that went way beyond anything that Nanako had imagined when she'd asked the three of them to save her friends.

"Wait," said Yosuke, suddenly unwilling and worried. "Hold on a moment, we want to know what-!"

It was, however, too late. Just as the snake had grown in size after devouring the rabbit, the three assistants now began to grow and stretch, reaching out towards each other as their physical forms began to take over the space in the room. As their hands met, they formed a sort of twisted human triangle, closing their eyes and each clasping the hands of the others tightly in their own. Then, they seemed to melt back into the walls of the room, and everything went white and blinding in a sudden unexpected and explosive glow.

As his eyesight slowly returned, Yosuke watched Adachi deliver the finishing blow to the snake shadow, which hissed one last parting shot at the team before erupting into red and black shadow essence. Then, everything was terrifyingly still and quiet. No one moved for a long moment, and it was Nanako who finally broke the lull.

"Theodore?" she called out. "Margaret? Elizabeth? Where did you go?"

There was no answer. Her words echoed harshly around the empty room.

"Oh," whispered Yukiko. "Nanako-chan, look…"

Yosuke followed Yukiko's pointing finger, and saw that there were now three columns standing in the room, stretching from the ground to the ceiling. They looked like they were made of some kind of stone, although it was so white and pristine that Yosuke couldn't imagine any real life rock managing to look quite like that.

Nanako moaned quietly to herself, and hurried forward to press her hands against one of the columns. Following quickly behind, Yosuke recognized that the statue carved into the column had Theodore's face.

"We seem to be in no more danger," remarked Naoto. "The walls are again intact. The room is no longer disintegrating. I believe that the crisis has been averted."

Nanako let out a strangled sob, drawing everyone's attention in her direction. She had run over to one of the other columns, and seen that this one was carved with Margaret's face. Yosuke could only assume that the third column would, of course, be Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry," wailed Nanako, wrapping her arms around the Margaret column and sniffling into it. "I didn't mean to…I didn't know…please come back. Please! That's what I want! You said you'd do what I wanted! Please!"

A lump lodged itself in Yosuke's throat. He hadn't liked Margaret, or Elizabeth, or Theodore. He'd found them all creepy, and for obvious reasons he'd never forgiven Elizabeth for what she'd done to his best friend, even if it was only in hopes of saving his newest partner. Still, Nanako's grief was so pure it was painful. For a girl her age, he thought, she'd already had too much to do with death.

Adachi, whom Yosuke had almost entirely forgotten in the midst of recent events, walked over and peeled Nanako off of the column. She clung to him, burying her face in his leg and crying. "Hey, it's not your fault," Adachi told her, looking more than a little bit out of his depth. "Don't' cry, okay? They did what they were supposed to do."

"I told them to," sniffled Nanako. "I made them do it…I…I hurt them…I'm a terrible person…"

"None of that," said Adachi, and there was an edge to his voice that made Yosuke suddenly put his hand to his weapon. "Listen, you're not a bad person, and you didn't hurt them. You think your dad would want to hear you talking like that? You didn't do anything wrong, okay? You were trying to help. Sometimes, things just happen. It was an accident. Do you understand?"

Slowly, Nanako nodded, her eyes wide. In her surprise at his unexpectedly adamant tone, she stopped crying.

"Okay," said Adachi. "Good. Come on, let's go find your Big Bro. He's probably waiting for you."

Without another look back, Adachi, with Nanako in tow, walked through the door and back into the Velvet Room.

"Uh, is he gonna…" began Kanji haltingly.

Yosuke shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't leave the two of them alone. Come on, quick!"


	31. Chapter Thirty

**Author's Note: **Here we are, coming to the end. There's one more short chapter after this, and then an epilogue. Stay tuned to the Author's Notes for more news about future installments of this series!

Also, I've released the results of that poll I had posted on my profile, you can find them there. Seriously? Half of you? Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was really intrigued by that pairing. Thanks for taking the time!

**Chapter Thirty**

Yosuke and the rest of the team hurried back into the Velvet Room, right on Adachi and Minako's heels. They arrived to find Nanako crying again, although with less desperate abandon than before, standing in front of Igor and recounting the story of what had happened with the shadow snake and the sacrifice of the three assistants.

"I'm sorry," she finished sadly, the tears dripping down her cheeks and falling with little inaudible splats to the floor. "It was an accident..."

Yosuke was still very aware of Adachi standing at Nanako's elbow. For all that he was concerned about his friend's little cousin, he didn't want to risk taking his eye off the criminal for even a moment. Sure, he'd 'helped them out' when they'd faced the snake shadow, but what had that meant? Really, thought Yosuke, what he and the others should have been doing was tackling Adachi to the ground and disabling him so that they could get him back to the prison. It still wasn't clear how he'd gotten out and over to the Velvet Room in the first place. Had he picked the lock on his cell, or had there been a TV left or wheeled too close to the bars? Nothing else seemed to make any sense.

"Can you get them back?" asked Nanako. "If you can, then I promise we'll work harder this time and we'll make sure that the shadow doesn't break the walls anymore. I understand now. I won't let them hut themselves again, I promise."

The hopeful look on Nanako's face forced Yosuke to look away. He could already tell by the set of Igor's jaw that there was no undoing what had been done, and he knew that, somewhere deep inside, Nanako probably knew it too. That was why she'd dissolved into such floods of tears. Hearing her pleading like this was a little too much for him to take.

"No," murmured Igor. "No, the choice is made and the flow of the future has already been set in motion. There is nothing, now to be done."

Peering hard into Igor's face, Yosuke suddenly wondered if he was sad, at all. He didn't look sad, or even angry, just…thoughtful, and stoic. Sure, he wasn't exactly smiling with glee, but there were no real signs that the loss of his three assistants meant anything specific to him. Come to think of it, thought Yosuke, what had they really been to each other? They had called him "Master," as though they'd been his slaves, but…had they been co-workers? Friends? They had spent every day together, for…maybe for eternity. What would happen, now? Somehow, the idea of Igor bursting into tears was so disturbing, that Yosuke was briefly glad that the man seemed to be as unemotional as ever. Maybe he was letting Nanako feel enough for both of them. Or maybe, honestly, he just didn't care. There were people and things in the world, Yosuke remembered, turning his attention back to Adachi, that didn't' have the full bent of human emotions.

"So?" asked Kanji, into the silence that fell after Igor spoke. "What now? What about Yu-senpai and Minako? Are they gonna be okay?"

Igor shrugged. "Things will return to normal," he informed them. "All will be well, of course, until new shadows emerge from the minds of your friends, and then the battle will begin anew. It is as we expected when we performed the resealing."

"So…we'll have to start all over," muttered Yosuke.

Igor nodded. "I believe," he remarked, "that when we offered you the choice whether or not to perform the resealing, it was you who said that you were willing to continue to the fight the shadows, no matter what the cost to your own person. Having made that decision, we expect you to abide by it."

"We?" asked Yukiko.

For just a moment, Igor's eyes widened slightly. "Ah," he murmured. "Yes. I expect you to abide by it. It is the rule."

There seemed to be nothing left to say after that. Slowly, reluctantly, the members of the investigation team started drifted into pairs or groups, and then moving towards the Velvet Room door. No one seemed to want to talk about what had just happened, or the trials that were, apparently still and eternally laid out ahead of them.

Just as Yosuke himself was getting ready to go back into the TV world, Igor stopped them all with a few words.

"There is," he said quietly, "just one more matter that remains to be dealt with."Everyone turned around to stare at him. "Nanako," he continued, "as the Wild Card, it is now your responsibility to create for me a new assistant. Without assistance, I am unable to perform the tasks necessary to provide you with persona skills and advancements.

"Huh?" asked Nanako in surprise. "But…how am I supposed to do that?"

"Can't we worry about this some other day, please?" asked Chie. "I can barely keep my eyes open…"

She wasn't the only one who was exhausted, Yosuke realized. He, too, was beginning to feel the deep aches in his muscles and bones, as well as the emotional exhaustion of having cycled through so many violent and panicky feelings in such a short space of time. Several of the team members, as well as Adachi were bleeding in multiple places, and Teddie was looking deflated and flattened.

"I fear that it is not a matter that can be put off so easily," murmured Igor firmly. "Before you leave this room today, the decision must be made."

Nanako shook her head and frowned. "But I can't make people," she reminded Igor. "I'm just a girl, I don't' have magical powers like you do. I'm just…." She paused for a moment, as her gaze fell on Adachi, who was now leaning against the wall a few feet away from her, apparently bored by the whole exchange.

"You can do it," she told him, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You can be the assistant."

Everyone stared at her, including Adachi. "Nanako-chan," began Naoto, "I do not think that it works quite that way."

"Yeah, obviously," agreed Yosuke. "Besides, you don't want that guy running around inside your head. We'd have twice as much work to do with all the shit he'd think up."

Nanako, however, was adamant. "No," she insisted, "it's a good idea. Adachi-san has to go back to jail when we go home. He's a criminal. Dad says criminals don't get better, and they don't learn how to not be criminals anymore, but…maybe it's because nobody ever lets them. If he stays in here, it'll be just like jail, only he'll be helping people. It's like a better prison, and maybe, in a better jail, he'll get better too."

That was, unfortunately, the stupidest thing that Yosuke had ever heard. Kids, he thought, trying not to roll his eyes at Nanako. What would she think up next?

"It's not…really that simple," he said, trying to think of how to explain it to Nanako, who, though still tearful, had a big smile on her face now, as though she had somehow managed to solve the problem of world peace all by herself.

Unexpectedly, Adachi laughed. "Why not?" he asked, shaking his head. "The kid's right. I'm not doing any good sitting on my ass in prison. You guys are just gonna drag me back there anyway, aren't you? Even if you don't, they'll catch me again. Dojima-san's annoyingly good at getting his man. Honestly, sticking around here sounds a lot more interesting. It's the craziest kind of community service I've ever heard of, but, hey, it's a crazy world."

"You'll do it?" asked Nanako hopefully.

Yosuke felt it was time to put a stop to this. "He can't do it. That won't work," he told her. "Right, Igor?"

Igor frowned. "I see no reason why not. He is a persona user, and does have the required abilities, although he will, of course, have to be trained…" Igor gave Adachi an appraising look, and Yosuke thought he detected just the slightest hint of distaste in Igor's eyes. "It will be, of course, as the guest wishes. Is this want you want, Nanako?"

"Yes," announced Nanako. "Yes, it is."

Adachi stepped forward in front of Igor, and held both wrists out in front of him, as though waiting to be handcuffed. Igor, apparently unimpressed by this sarcastic bravado, waved his hand, and a piece of paper fluttered down in front of Adachi.

"Sign here," Igor instructed him. "This is a contract committing you to service in this Velvet Room."

As Yosuke watched, hoping against all hope that the shadow snake might suddenly reappear and eat Adachi alive, Adachi reached forward, picked up the pen, and stared at it thoughtfully for a moment.

"After I sign this thing," he said, "I want to do something. I'm gonna need five minutes. Then I'll come back and I'll do all the slave shit you want, okay?"

Igor inclined his head in assent. Apparently satisfied with that, Adachi took the pen, and signed, quickly and carelessly, "Tohru Adachi."

Then he turned around, and walked through the door to the TV world.

Yosuke and Kanji immediately made as if to follow him out, but Igor shook his head at them. "Having once agreed to the contract, he cannot leave this world without the supervision of the Wild Card," he assured them. "Your friend will return."

The very use of the word "friend" to describe Adachi made Yosuke feel as though he wanted to throw up all over the immaculately clean Velvet Room floor.

**Moments later, outside the Velvet Room…**

Minako woke up to the beautiful, refreshing realization that the pain had stopped. She lay on the ground for a few moments, getting her bearings and forcing herself to remember what had happened and what she was doing on the floor in the first place.

"Oh god," she gasped out loud, as it all came flooding back. The others and Yu were probably still in terrible danger. Where were they? What was going on, and how long had she been passed out like this?

Then again, she reasoned, the headache was completely gone, and that meant something. She wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but hopefully it was something good. If her headache was gone, then was Yu, too, safe from the pain? Was it all over? What had happened to her friends?

Minako got to her feet, brushing herself off and feeling with her hands to try to find the wall that should have been a door to the Velvet Room. Instead of the wall, however, her seeking fingers found something that felt like a human being.

"Oh, good," said Tohru. "You're not dead. I guess you're good at following instructions. No wonder Dojima-san puts up with you."

"Tohru?" she asked, grabbing on to his arm. "What happened? Where is everyone? Is it over?"

"Yeah," he told her, "its over. Everyone's fine. They're all gonna come running out here gushing about how worried they were in, like, maybe ten seconds. That doesn't give me a lot of time." He sighed. "Shame, really. Oh, well."

"Time?" asked Minako. "Time for what?"

Instead of answering that, Tohru suddenly pulled her to him and kissed her, quickly and deeply. Stunned, Minako began to pull away, but Tohru's hand squeezed against the small of her back, and he broke the kiss to whisper against her cheek, "Aw, come on. I did what you wanted. I played the hero for you. Let me have this, okay?"

Slowly, Minako felt herself relax, and even let herself lean in to him a bit as she began, almost without realizing she was doing it, to return the kiss. The fingers of Tohru's free hand reached up to twine themselves through her hair, and she could feel his heart beating in time with her own as his breath rose and fell against her chest.

Then, something wet and sticky landed on her nose, and she pulled away to brush it off. "You're bleeding," she told him, reaching up to find the wound on his forehead that was the source of the blood.

"What?" asked Tohru breathlessly. "Oh…yeah. Jeez. Sorry." He laughed that same, nervous little laugh that she'd heard so many times before she'd been introduced to what he really was. "Wow, that's gross, uh…I just needed to know if you-!"

"Minako!" called Junpei from somewhere behind her. Minako heard footsteps coming towards them. Tohru released her with an exasperated little sigh.

"Well, this is it," he told her. "Here comes the cavalry. Goodbye, blind girl. It's been fun."

"Wait," she told him, but she could already hear him walking away. Then, Junpei's hands were on her shoulders, and there were bodies pressing all around her, reaching out to touch her and exclaiming at her excitedly.

"You're all right," said Junpei, and she could hear the glowing relief in his voice as he said it. "We were really worried…I thought we heard you scream, back there, when we were fighting off that snake thing, but…I don't know, maybe I imagined it. Anyway, you're safe, now."

"What about you?" asked Minako, remembering the blood she'd found on Tohru's face. "Are you hurt? What snake thing? Where's everybody else?"

"We're here," Yosuke told her. "Everybody made it."

"Yeah," agreed Chie, with only slightly less of her usual spunk. "There are cuts and bruises, sure, but we'll live to fight another day!"

Minako was so relieved she thought she might pass out again. She insisted on taking several minutes to go around and find each person, to check with them and make sure that they were all right. Only when she came to the last member of the group did she realize that something was missing.

"Where's Shinji?" she asked. "Junpei? Wasn't' Shinji with you?"

"Huh?" Junpei sounded surprised. "Yeah, he was just here a minute ago. He's the one that heard you scream back there, actually. I saw him walk out of the room just a few minutes before we did."

Minako's heart sank. "Excuse me," she murmured. "I think I…just a minute." Turning on her heel, she ran back in the direction of the exit from the TV world.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

**Author's Note: **This chapter was hard for me to write. Unfortunately, early on in this story, I realized that I'd written myself into a corner, and that the way I was characterizing Shinjiro and Minako, there was no way I could make them work out as a couple. For some reason, I had created a relationship dynamic that was just not going to be successful. That was very frustrating, because then I had to go and re-plot the entire story…

Someday, perhaps even someday soon, I'll write a ShinjiroxMinako story that really gives them the opportunity and the space to fall back in love again. I loved them as a couple in the game, and I think it can definitely be done, but for the time being, I'm going to have to let them go, at least for now. Let's just hope I have better luck in my real life relationships than I do in creating fictional ones.

But, as I do love me some plot twists and angst, I don't' promise or commit to them being broken up forever.

And **I solemnly promise** that after this chapter, the breakups have finally ended. Now, and I mean this sincerely, it is time for me to start getting couples together. There are at least three that I will be focusing heavily on in future installments of this story, and they all get happy endings! So do not despair, I am capable of writing happy romance. I think.

**Chapter Thirty One**

"Shinji!" Minako cried, rushing forward so fast that she almost tripped over her own feet. "Shinji, wait! Listen, I can explain!" Uncertain that he was even still in the TV, Minako wasn't sure where to turn next, and was just beginning to seriously panic when she heard his voice off somewhere to her left.

"Forget it," he said. "You don't have to explain."

"Shinji!" Relief flooded her entire body as Minako walked over towards his voice. "I didn't mean for it to happen. He just came up and kissed me, and I didn't know what to do. I was confused, and… I didn't want to kiss him, I don't want anything to do with him. I'll never see him or go near him ever again, please. Don't be angry."

She reached out and found Shinjiro's hand, but when she tried to hold it in hers, it was cold and unresponsive to the touch. No, thought Minako. No, please, not now. This can't be happening now, after everything was finally over and things had a chance of being okay again.

"It doesn't matter," Shinjiro muttered. "It doesn't matter anymore. I get it, now."

Minako just stared at him. "Get what?" she asked. "No, you don't get it. You don't understand, I'm trying to tell you that-!"

"It was never about the shadows," said Shinji, a bit louder than Minako had been expecting. "I wanted it to be, but that didn't help." Pausing, he let out a deep breath. "I just wanted you. It didn't matter what else I had to do, as long as I could have you. I just…I wanted to protect you, to keep you close, but maybe I don't know what that means. I've never loved anybody before. I…I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Minako didn't know what he was supposed to say either, but she knew what she wanted to hear him say. In lieu of anything else, she told him, sincerely, "I love you."

"I love you too," said Shinjiro. "So…I'm going back to Iwatodai."

Shaking her head violently, Minako felt herself beginning to cry. The stress and the strain of the day were beginning to take their toll on her, and she didn't have it in her to be stoic in the face of this sudden onslaught of feelings. "We can go back," she insisted. "We can start over, just the way you wanted. Now that everything's over, we can pick up where we left off at Gekkoukan again. There's still so much time."

"There was never enough time," muttered Shinjiro. "You're never gonna let me treat you the way I want. You're always so dead set on being on your own, doing everything yourself. It hurts me to watch you throw yourself into everything like that. You're gonna get yourself killed someday. I can't take that. I can't sleep at night. Honestly, I thought, maybe now that you were blind, now that you needed me…but it didn't make a difference."

"I don't want to hurt you," murmured Minako. "

If it wasn't him," continued Shinjiro, "It would have been somebody else. You're always restless when you're with me. Maybe that's why I never wanted to see you with any other guys. I knew you'd never really want to be my girl."

"I want to be your girl," Minako promised him. "I want another chance. Let me try. Please. You won't be sorry!"

Shinjiro sighed, and Minako could hear how tired he was. "I'm already sorry," he mumbled. Minako heard him walking away from her, and although she wanted to chase after him, for some reason her feet were rooted to the spot.

"If you want me," he told her over his shoulder, just before the sound of his footsteps disappeared entirely, "You know where I'll be. I told you before; there won't ever be anybody else for me. It'll always be you."

With that, he left her standing helplessly next to the entrance, letting herself cry.

"Minako?" asked Junpei, coming up behind her. "Hey, uh…here." He handed a crumpled pack of tissues to her over her shoulder.

"Did you hear everything?" asked Minako, sniffling.

"Yeah, pretty much," admitted Junpei. "If you want, I can go after him, and, you know, rough him up a bit for making a girl cry."

Minako just shook her head. There wasn't any point, she knew, in chasing after Shinjiro and sobbing that she was so, so sorry. He'd told her what she'd have to do if she wanted him back. Right now, all she could do was listen to him walk out of her life, and try to remember to exhale after inhaling.

She'd have to go home, now, she realized. At least, she would after stopping back at the police station to check on Yu. If she was fine, then she was sure that he, too, would be fine, although she'd definitely feel better about it after she'd seen him face to face. Dojima would be there as well, and there was definitely going to be a lot of explaining to do before any of them would be allowed to put this whole horrifying episode behind them.

Eventually, however, she would have to go home, and Shinjiro wouldn't be waiting for her when she got there. He wouldn't be cooking in the kitchen, or grumbling to himself while he tried to find something that he'd dropped back behind the stove. The next morning, when she got up to go to work, as though it was just another day, he wouldn't help her find a matching set of clothes. She would never have the chance to make him the breakfast that she'd failed to make the other day. It was too late now, she thought, to realize how much of her life he'd been a part of. It was too late to wish she'd let him love her the way he'd wanted to.

"Junpei?" she asked. "Can I come over tonight? Please?"

"Course," said Junpei. "I was gonna insist if you didn't ask."

**A few days later, at the Dojima residence…**

Somehow, Minako had made it to her seventeenth birthday.

The promised celebration was in full swing, with a cake prepared by a collusion of all the girls sitting and cooling on the kitchen table. There were only seven candles in it, or rather, there were six now that Teddie had decided to try to eat one, for reasons that were still a mystery to everyone else at the party. Minako could only assume that Yosuke had dared him to do it, although Yosuke was denying it to anyone and everyone who asked him.

Minako was doing her best to have a good time. After all, it was a birthday party that her new friends were throwing just for her, and that was definitely something to be appreciated and enjoyed. She knew that they were trying to make her feel especially loved, something that she needed and yet couldn't manage to let herself feel after her breakup with Shinjiro. The more the days went by, the more she missed just having him in the same room. It was funny how she'd never even thought about what being close to him meant to her while they'd been sharing a home.

Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Yukari had all taken the time to come down from their various places of school and work to visit Minako for her birthday. The three of them were currently hanging out on the sofa, admiring how talented Nanako was at getting all the answers correct on her favorite evening quiz show.

While Minako watched them from a safe distance, she heard a familiar set of wheels rolling towards her over the floor panels.

"You don't' look very happy," Yu observed, stopping his chair to sit next to her.

Minako sighed. "Yeah," she agreed. "I'm sorry. I'm just-!"

"You're just overwhelmed," interjected Yu. "I know. I know the feeling."

Minako wondered if he really did. If there was anyone in the room who understood what it was like to not be in control of his or her own emotions, then it was definitely Yu. Still, he hadn't just gotten dumped.

….and that, Minako reasoned with herself, was probably because Yu hadn't been caught making out with another woman in front of his girlfriend. There was really no way that Minako could manage to paint this as anything other than her own damn fault.

"Actually," said Yu, "it's happened before."

Minako opened her mouth to say something, but then wasn't sure exactly what to say in the first place. Was he reading her mind, now?

"It's all over your face," he informed her. "There's really only one thing you could be that miserable about."

"Please tell me," murmured Minako desperately, "that everyone doesn't' know why Shinjiro-!"

"Everybody doesn't know," Yu assured her. "I know. You told me that day at the station, remember?"

Minako breathed out a sigh of relief that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Yosuke would kill me," she said. "He'd never speak to me again. It would be horrible."

"Yeah," agreed Yu, "it would be pretty bad. Good thing I'm not going to tell him. Besides, Yosuke cares about you, so eventually, he'd get over it. Maybe. It would take a long time."

Minako realized that she didn't want to think about it anymore. "You said 'it's happened before,'" she reminded him. "What's happened before?"

Yu paused for a moment before answering that question. "Rise never told you?" he asked. "That's surprising. I thought she'd told everyone. Maybe she's finally starting to get over it. Once, during the first year I spent in Inaba, Rise caught me kissing Yukiko at the shrine."

"So?" asked Minako.

"So," finished Yu, "that was only hours after I'd taken her on our third date to Okina City."

Minako found herself trying not to laugh. "I had no idea," she told him, "that you were such a lady's man. Shame on you! How could you? They're both such nice girls…I'm amazed that you're still all friends."

"It wasn't my best moment, I'll admit," agreed Yu. "Sometimes hormones can play interesting tricks on you."

"Yeah," muttered Minako. "Hormones and shadows."

"Does it really matter which one it is?" asked Yu. "In the end, the result in the same. Hormones will probably happen again. Unfortunately, so will shadows. We'll have to be ready, but we also have to make sure that we're ready to let go and move on. We can't face new things if we're still hung up on the old ones."

Minako smiled. "Was that supposed to be a pep talk?" she asked.

Taking her by the hand, Yu guided her past the sofa and over to the table where the cake was standing. "It was the truth," he informed her. "And it will still be the truth the next time something goes wrong, which it will. You know, they're waiting for you to cut the cake."

Seeing that she was standing next to the table, several of Minako's friends began whispering amongst themselves, and moving towards her, until she could feel the press of bodies and the eyes watching her expectantly from various corners of the room. Yu passed her the knife, and guided her hand to the place where he wanted her to cut. Carefully, Minako pressed the knife down, and felt it slide through layers of frosting and confection.

"Happy birthday, Minako," said Junpei, from somewhere by Minako's right hand.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" agreed Fuuka, who had come to stand by the table.

"Cake for everybody!" announced Chie enthusiastically.

As Yu and Minako handed cake around to all the guests, Minako took a deep, calming breath.

Yu was right, she thought. Unexpectedly, she was seventeen years old, and tomorrow would be another day.

"


	33. Epilogue

**Author's Note: **Oh dear, please don't be so angry! Look! Here! I wrote something cute for you! Please don't hate me! Oh, there's another important A/N at the end, by the way.

**Epilogue**

One Saturday morning, when no one was paying any attention to what she was doing, Nanako went back to the Velvet Room.

Igor was there, in his usual spot, but this time, so was Adachi, sprawled out in the chair next to Igor, looking bored and generally disinterested in his surroundings. When Nanako walked in, he sat up. "Hey, Nanako-chan," he greeted her. "What's going on in the real world? Jeez, it feels like days since I've seen another human being…"

"Um, it has been days," Nanako informed him. "How are you, Adachi-san?"

"I'm uh…" Adachi glanced over at Igor, who appeared to be completely ignoring him. "I'm bored out of my skull," he told her, with an exasperated sigh. "Kinda figured there'd be more to do around here. You know, fighting off shadows and creating badass new personas…but, no, all I do is sit here and stare at the wall, hoping somebody might show up and put me out of my misery."

Nanako wasn't quite sure how to react to that. After all, it had been her decision to trap him here, and that was after he'd gone out of his way to help save her and her friends from that horrible snake shadow. Still…Dad had been very clear about the fact that criminals could not be allowed to run around in the streets. Otherwise, she knew, there wouldn't be jails in the first place. Besides, it didn't look so bad in here. There was definitely something missing, though…

"Hey," asked Adachi, breaking in on Nanako's thoughts. "What did you tell Dojima-san about me? I mean, I guess he asked when he saw that the cell was open and I was gone, right? So? What happened?"

"Oh," replied Nanako calmly, "We just told him that you were dead."

"Wha-?" Adachi blinked at her in surprise. "You, um…well, I guess that's one way to handle it. What did he, uh…say, when you told him that?"

Nanako frowned as she thought about that. "He asked a lot of questions," she said slowly. "He wanted to know how it happened, and what you were doing out of your cell, but Minako fixed everything. She explained that I was in danger, and that you had to come and save me, and that while you were saving me, something bad happened, and…" Nanako bit her lip. "I didn't' like lying to Dad," she admitted. "Lying isn't a good thing to do. It's a bad habit. Minako said that we had to, though. She said it would let Dad have a piece of his mind."

"A piece of his mind…?" Adachi rolled that around on his tongue or a moment. "You mean, it would give him 'peace of mind?'"

"Yeah," agreed Nanako. "That's what it was!" After a moment of thought, she added, "but, I don't think Minako was right. She said it would make Dad feel better, but he's sad sometimes, now. He comes home sighing a lot from work. Last night he was at the booze again…"

Adachi didn't seem to have anything to say to that. Nanako watched as Adachi opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, looking surprised and out of his depth.

"Can I go into that other room today?" asked Nanako, after waiting a few polite moments for Adachi to figure out what he wanted to say. "Are there any shadows?"

"Nope," muttered Adachi, slightly distracted. "The coast is clear. You want me to come in with you, just in case?"

"No thanks," Nanako assured him. "I'll be fine."

Leaving Igor and Adachi to their own devices, Nanako walked through what Yosuke had always called the "nightmare door," and soon found herself standing in the large room surrounded by the three columns. Sitting down on the floor in the center of the room, Nanako pulled a coloring book and a box of crayons out of her bag, and laid them out in front of her.

"Good morning!" she announced to the room at large. "I'm sorry that it's been so long since I was here. Chie and Kanji have been teaching me how to ride a bike without my training wheels, and yesterday morning I fell down and started bleeding from my nose, so Dad said I had to stay in all day and not go to school…"

As she talked, Nanako began using a bright blue crayon on a picture of a large butterfly, with its wings outspread. She did her best to stay within the lines, something that she was embarrassed to admit she sometimes had a hard time doing, even at her age, unless she really spent time focusing on the task at hand.

"Next week," she told the room, "I'll be going to the beach with Dad and Big Bro! It's almost the end of summer vacation, and Dad says that we should take a family trip before Big Bro has to go back to his parents in the city. I don't want him to go back at all…I wish he could stay with us forever. He promised me, though, that he'd be back in a few months to see the first snow of the year with me. Last year, the first snow wasn't very much fun…"

Nanako remembered that the first snow of the year before had happened on the same day that she'd found Yu cold in his bed. Deciding that she didn't want to think about that, she changed topics.

"I've got a new swimsuit for the beach," she announced. "It's green! Last year, my favorite color was pink, but this year I think I'm going to like green instead. Chie wears a lot of green, and she's so strong! I think I want to be more like her when I grow up. Yukiko's really pretty, though…do you think I could ever be pretty like that? Yukiko has a pink swimsuit, so maybe I should wear my old pink one instead…"

Having finally finished coloring the butterfly, Nanako carefully tore it out of the book, and pulled out a roll of tape from her bag. She tore off a small piece of tape, just the way Yu had shown her, and walked over to the column that had Theodore's face on it. Attaching the tape to the butterfly picture, she hung the picture up at the bottom of the column, just below the place where the face was visible.

"There," she said, stepping back to admire her work. "That looks a little better, doesn't it? It's too white in here. You need more color! Hmm, maybe I should make another one. Maybe I'll make a green one, and then a pink one. What do you think?"  
For a moment, there was no response. Just as Nanako headed back to begin work on a second picture, however, a little peal of feminine laughter echoed around the walls of the room, having come, apparently from nowhere at all.

Nanako smiled. "I thought you'd like that, Elizabeth," she said. "Which color do you want?"

**Author's Note: **And thus ends the second installment in what is rapidly becoming an epic-sized Persona series. I have enjoyed every second of writing this, and I sincerely hope you've' enjoyed reading it as well. If you didn't', at least you get to stop now! Phew! If you did, there's more where that came from, and please do read on for further details.

The story is now going to branch off into two separate stories, both of which will follow the same timeline, but feature different perspectives and events.

If you are interested in following the further adventures of the Investigation Team, and their mission to explore the Velvet Room and protect the minds of their friends, you'll want to read **Piecekeeping**, which will be told from Yosuke and Nanako's points of view. This story will feature all of the characters you've seen from me so far, but will focus the most heavily on Yosuke, Nanako, and Yu.

If you are interested in following the futher adventures of Minako in the Inaba police force, and her complicated and confusing relationship with Adachi, you'll want to read **Messiah**, which will be told from Minako and Adachi's points of view. Again, many of the characters you've seen so far will be featured, but it will focus the most heavily on Minako, Adachi, and Junpei (hooray Junpei!) We'll also see some more of the persona 3 cast come back in that one!

The stories will overlap and occasionally reference each other, but can be read separately! Of course, if you want to know the WHOLE story, you can always read them both. :D

Warning: **Piecekeeping** will be a much lighter, more adventure-style story involving multiple pairings and ABSOLUTELY NO BREAKUPS OR CHARACTER DEATHS. **Messiah** will be a darker, slightly angstier story dealing more heavily with the more difficult side of romance, among other things.

I will post the beginnings of both of these stories next week!

In the meantime, I have GOT to do some homework, oh dear…and it's all my own fault, too.

Thanks very much for reading, and I hope to see you again in a week!


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